Today's Devotional

December 3, 2002

Subject:  In His Protection

Ezra 8:22 - "For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way:  because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him."

Ezra 8:31 - "Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem:  and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way." 

I remember a time in my life where there was much human fear.  I had friends walking around with pistols and weapons because of the fear.  However, while I sensed the same fear, I knew that I was under the divine protection of God.  There was no need for any weaponry on my part, because the battle was not mine to fight.  I'm sure we've all been in situations before that were life-threatening, but we simply had to trust in God.

Sometimes trusting in God can seem a bit foolish to us and it often is.  Remember though, Paul said that God hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.  Ezra had been given a charter by God to go and so he thought it wrong to ask the king for protection.  Perhaps that is more foolish for us as believers, i.e. to ask man for his protection when God has commanded and provided for us to go.  Rightfully, it should make us ashamed to not trust in His divine protection.  Ezra proclaimed a fast to seek God's direction, and as you see in verse 31, God delivered them.

Are you depending on God's protection today or is human wisdom your attempt at deliverance from the enemies of life?  If God has directed and provided for us, we should all be ashamed to ask the king for his protection.  For indeed we believe that "the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him."  Let's let Him deliver us today.

Carlen