Protection

"The Lord is my protector; he is my strong fortress.  My God is my protection, and with him I am safe.  He protects me like a shield; he defends me and keeps me safe."  Psalm 18:2 (GNT)

The car thermostat read 101 degrees as my husband and I drove along today.  Under any conditions, dry heat or not, that is hot - especially in New England.  This girl likes it at a tepid 80, so this is WAY out of my comfort zone - literally!  As we drove along the cost, the beaches were packed with people, barely a slip of paper fitting between them.  While people watching I'm thinking - can you imagine how much sunscreen is on that beach?

Sunscreen does the job of protecting the skin against the harmful rays of the sun.  In essence, wherever you put the sunscreen, it is now a shield or barrier against a bad sunburn - keeping the person safe.  As I thought about sunscreen, it actually took me to our Lord, and this wonderful verse.  Some of you may be more familiar with the NIV version, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and deliverer; . . ."  Often the NIV translation is what I use, but in this particular case, I love the word protector.

Life can be hard.  Maybe we aren't dealing with anything catastrophic (that is my prayer for all my readers).  Yet, the ins and outs of general life can take its toll.  Maybe the workload at our jobs has us feelimg as if we are climbing out of a barrel.  Maybe the pressures of children have us pulling our hair out.  Maybe the requests of friends and family seem to be pulling at your last nerve.  Where do you turn when those daily struggles seem to be getting the best of you?

When this world seems to be giving me more than my fair share of tough days, knowing that God is protecting me and keeping me safe brings me such comfort.  Life isn't always easy; sometimes it is just plain hard.  Yet, when those days arrive, I know that God is around me, like a force field, ensuring that the world doesn't bring me down.  This verse is my constant reminder that God is on MY side, protecting me, defending me, and bringing me peace.  How important is this verse?  I actually keep it in my day timer at work - letting me glimpse at it when the day may be getting the best of me.  Keeping this verse close is keeping God close - and when I have Him close to me, I can never get burned!!

Dearest Lord, thank you for being my protector.  As you well know, life here on Earth isn't always easy.  Yet, with you as my shield from all that is bad, I know that I am on the winning side.  With your protection, I'm not only safe from daily struggles, I'm also safe from the devil and all that he tries to do to bring me down.  May I be reminded every day of the protection and love you so willingly provide to me.  Thank you Jesus - Amen!