Our Protective Shade

 

Psalm 121:1-5(NLT)
“1 I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! 3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. 5 The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.”

It was movie night for my daughter’s senior class, and a group of her friends were getting together to hang out. I typically didn’t mind when she went out on the weekends because she’s a good kid, and she’s pretty good at keeping her curfew. My only request was that she called me when she arrived at her destination. It was my way of knowing she was ok, but this particular evening, I didn’t keep my end of the deal. I woke up at 2:00am and realized I had fallen asleep. Immediately I looked at my phone, and when I saw the time, checking on my daughter was the first thing on my mind. To my relief, she had gotten home already and said to me, “Mom, I texted you several times but when I didn’t hear from you, I figured you were asleep. I got home a few hours ago.”

Despite my best intentions, I fell asleep and these things happen. As parents, we sometimes miss the mark. But this will never, ever happen with our Heavenly Father, and Psalm 121 beautifully illustrates this truth. God never falls asleep on us. He’s our constant Protector, and He will forever watch over us.

1Peter 5:6-7(NLT) says, “6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” We’re covered under God’s mighty power, and although we know this as parents, many of us will still put a lot of unnecessary pressure on ourselves. We love our children and want to do what’s best for them. God has this same desire. We’re all His kids, and He wants the best for all of us, all the time. He desires us to succeed on every level, and He wants it more for us than we want it for ourselves and for the people we love. He is such a loving and awesome God that He tells us not to worry and to relinquish the anxiety that comes with all that pressure. He’s got us! He’ll keep our families under His protection and care.

Our responsibility is to have faith in God. We try to handle everything on our own, but we don’t know the future. We can’t see what’s coming, nor can we control anything. God is the One who holds our tomorrows and knows our futures. He tells us to give all our worries, fears, and anxiety to Him, because that is how we demonstrate our love for God. Our faith conveys our understanding of His mighty power, and it shows we’re convinced that He is able and willing to take care of us all. In Philippians 4:6-7(NLT), through the Apostle Paul, God tells us, “6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

The peace of God is real sisters, and God tells us in Colossians 3:15 to let it rule our hearts and to be thankful. This is a choice. We can choose to be full of worry, or we can choose to let God’s peace rule over us instead of fear. We can have peace in the middle of the storms of life because our God has all power in His hands, and He loves us. Philippians 4:7 tells us that the peace of God passes all understanding. No matter how things look or what is going on in our lives, our Heavenly Father never sleeps. He has promised to stand beside us as our protective shade. So, we can rest in His protection and care for our families as we all continue to live by faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

"Our Protective Shade" written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.