© August 2025 by Tonja K. Taylor
As a Believer in Christ Jesus, saved by faith in what His atoning blood did for us on the cross
over 2,000 years ago to pay for our sins, we have both the protection of God, and the wisdom of
God, to keep ourselves from danger.
The LORD keeps us; even when we sleep.
6 The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified
sevenfold. 7 You, O LORD, will keep us; You will forever guard us from this generation.
8 The wicked wander freely, and vileness is exalted among men. – Psalm 12:6-8, Berean
Standard Bible
However, there are ways that His protection can be violated—and God is never to blame.
The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is
resentful and frets against the Lord. – Proverbs 19:3, AMPC
God our Father loves us so much He sent Jesus, His Son, to pay for all our sins, and of course He
wants us to live long, strong, healthy, safe, blessed lives! He is the perfect Parent.
However, He is also a Gentleman, and has given each of us a free will.
Just like any good parents, who train their children what (and whom!) to avoid, to prevent the
child(ren) from being harmed, and even physically intervene as much as possible, there is still a
responsibility on the child(ren) to listen and obey. If they don’t, they can get hurt, even fatally.
He gives us His Wisdom liberally, through His Word, through anointed preachers and teachers of
His Word; through parents and other leaders who love us; even through rules and regulations of
the world.
He is merciful, and has employed His holy angels to keep me from harm when I was being
foolish; or at least prevent it from being much worse! He is so faithful, and only wants our
wellbeing!
When we are born again by faith in Christ Jesus, the LORD lives in our hearts as the Holy Spirit.
He leads us into all truth, and warns us of danger, among many other good things He does for us.
However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not
speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to
come.– John 16:13, Berean Standard Bible
During 9/11, the horrendous attack of the enemy in New York, many people’s lives were spared,
not harmed, because they heard the Spirit of Truth tell them to not go to work that day, or that
time, or to run, or get out of the building, or whatever.
Those who were children of God who ignored the prompting of the Holy Spirit and did what
they’d always done perished that day, or suffered harm otherwise.
We’ve all missed God, and His mercy and faithfulness has kept us. Ask me how I know! Praise
Him that He is Love (I John 4:16), and is very patient and kind.
God is always working all things together for our best and His glory (Genesis 50:20, Romans
8:28), because we are His precious Children and He loves us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah
31:3).
However, just like in a company or at a lake, where there is a sign forbidding one to go into a
certain room without safety gear; or to not swim because of strong currents or gators or sharp
rocks underneath the surface and such, if the rules are ignored, harm can occur.
There are ways that, even though our Father is God (when we are truly born again; Romans
10:13), the door can be opened to the enemy to cause harm.
One way that many people may not realize they can open the door to harm is through strife;
being angry, arguing, hating, judging, complaining (which is unthankfulness—and every good
thing in our lives comes from the LORD), scorning, etc.
Even if no physical harm occurs, emotional, mental, and even spiritual harm can occur; damage
to relationships, and even to one’s own perception of oneself to differ from the loving way
Daddy God really thinks of us.
It has been said by more than one minister that strife is the arena of the enemy; even that, “strife
is the manifested presence of the enemy.”
…14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and
pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you
shine as lights in the world 16 as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast
on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. – Phil. 2:14-16, Berean Standard
Bible
The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that we might have life and more
abundantly (John 10:10). Hallelujah!
Other ways that can open the door to harm are not reading the Word, not going to church, not
tithing, not having godly associations, and/or not giving up destructive habits and activities.
(There are too many details about all those for this writing, so we’ll stick with generalities.)
God is never punishing us! He punished His Son, Jesus, for our sins! He is the God of Peace.
If we want Heaven on earth, including peaceful, safe life, we need to honor God in every way.
So, we’ve all missed it—and the fact that we are still here on the planet means that God loves us
and is watching over us 24/7, and that His holy angels excel at their job of keeping us from harm,
even when we’re stupid (Psalm 91)—or is that just me?
Great is Your faithfulness, O LORD!
Prayer:
Dear Father, please forgive us where we may have put ourselves and our loved ones in harm’s
way, any time, any way. You are faithful and merciful and watching over us 24/7, even when we
are not aware of it. We thank You for Your unchanging love and protection, through His Holy
Spirit and His holy angels, as You state in Psalm 91 and other places. Help us to yield to Your
dear Spirit, Whom You gave to help keep us safe. Great is Your faithfulness, O LORD!
Conclusion:
Instead of resenting rules and guidelines of the Word and the (sensible ones of) the world, we can
ask the LORD to help us respect and follow them. Most of all, we can start our day thanking
Him for His precious, all-knowing Holy Spirit Who lives inside of us, constantly monitoring
every moment of our lives. He sees our present and future, revealing to us the Wisdom of God
for every situation; yearning to help us have the best, safest, most peaceful and satisfying lives
every day.
Bible verse:
“How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than
silver.”
Proverbs 16:16, Berean Standard Bible