Day 199: "The Lord Is My Shepherd" & "The Lord Is My Warrior"
Read: Isaiah 53:5 - 7, Isaiah 54:16 - 17
Today, I desire to bring to your prayerful attention the image of God as our Protector. I specifically recall these very powerful verses from 53:6, 54:16 - 17.
What really is standing out for me in these passages are the contrasts
between we as the sheep of of our Shepherd God (Psalm 23:1) somehow
growing a brain and somewhere we've become clever enough to elude the
ever watchful, ever searching eyes of our ever vigilant Chief Shepherd -
God. I find myself wondering about this because the price of our
wandering away someone who was meant to be our protector suddenly found
suffering, oppression and vulnerability right at the front gate to the Shepherd's home. Do we see them?
But verse 7 interests me greatly and perhaps you too as well. What
interests me the most is the posture of the Shepherd. Suffering,
Oppression, and Vulnerability have come marching in like nobody else's
business to the entrance to the sheep pen. And the Shepherd interposes
Himself between the threat and we who are His sheep. He says nothing to
the threat except that by His Presence and His staunch unwillingness to give one inch of ground to that threat. He doesn't have to say a word because He knows there is nothing the threat can do to gain that foothold in the lives of the sheep
He will forever be protecting with His life. But are these sheep paying any attention? Should we be?
Are we, as the beloved sheep of God's pasture even paying a little
attention to the silent vigilance of the Shepherd? I wonder If I am
because I tend to quickly dismiss these Spiritual Battles and put
(perhaps too much so) my eternal assurance into a verse like
1Corinthians 15:58 "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord, Jesus Christ." That the battle always belonged to
the Lord and that victory is already a fact so I do not have to worry
about such matters any more. But in point of fact, I realize now that I
am still that sheep who keeps trying to grow a brain and still that
sheep that keeps wandering away from the fold. I still need God's
protection! Do we still want God's protection?
Isaiah 54 gives us a completely different and
remarkably stark, even extreme image of God as Protector of His
wandering sheep. God in full battle array. God standing as the mighty
blacksmith forging weapons in the great blast furnaces of heaven. The
bellows force feeding air to stoke the great flames which heat the
metal, which the Blacksmith forges His greatest weapons that nothing
forged by man can overcome! The gentle yet unmoving, unyielding silent
image of the Shepherd, the Blacksmith, powerful and strong, projecting
battle hardened, battle tested determination to forge better weapons to fight the sheep's battles. But what I/We need to do is to pay attention! Do you believe this as well?
Let Us Pray: *The Prayer For Protection
The Light of God surrounds me.
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
The Mind of God guides me.
The Life of God flows through me.
The Laws of God direct me.
The Power of God abides within me.
The Joy of God uplifts me.
The Strength of God renews me.
The Beauty of God inspires me.
Wherever I am, God is!
* This prayer was written by James Dillet Freeman for all soldiers
during World War II. It is as powerful today as it was then.
http://www.youtube.com/
Read: Isaiah 53:5 - 7, Isaiah 54:16 - 17
Today, I desire to bring to your prayerful attention the image of God as our Protector. I specifically recall these very powerful verses from 53:6, 54:16 - 17. What really is standing out for me in these passages are the contrasts between we as the sheep of of our Shepherd God (Psalm 23:1) somehow growing a brain and somewhere we've become clever enough to elude the ever watchful, ever searching eyes of our ever vigilant Chief Shepherd - God. I find myself wondering about this because the price of our wandering away someone who was meant to be our protector suddenly found
suffering, oppression and vulnerability right at the front gate to the Shepherd's home. Do we see them?
But verse 7 interests me greatly and perhaps you too as well. What interests me the most is the posture of the Shepherd. Suffering, Oppression, and Vulnerability have come marching in like nobody else's business to the entrance to the sheep pen. And the Shepherd interposes Himself between the threat and we who are His sheep. He says nothing to the threat except that by His Presence and His staunch unwillingness to give one inch of ground to that threat. He doesn't have to say a word because He knows there is nothing the threat can do to gain that foothold in the lives of the sheep
He will forever be protecting with His life. But are these sheep paying any attention? Should we be?
Are we, as the beloved sheep of God's pasture even paying a little attention to the silent vigilance of the Shepherd? I wonder If I am because I tend to quickly dismiss these Spiritual Battles and put (perhaps too much so) my eternal assurance into a verse like 1Corinthians 15:58 "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ." That the battle always belonged to the Lord and that victory is already a fact so I do not have to worry about such matters any more. But in point of fact, I realize now that I am still that sheep who keeps trying to grow a brain and still that sheep that keeps wandering away from the fold. I still need God's protection! Do we still want God's protection?
Isaiah 54 gives us a completely different and remarkably stark, even extreme image of God as Protector of His wandering sheep. God in full battle array. God standing as the mighty blacksmith forging weapons in the great blast furnaces of heaven. The bellows force feeding air to stoke the great flames which heat the metal, which the Blacksmith forges His greatest weapons that nothing forged by man can overcome! The gentle yet unmoving, unyielding silent image of the Shepherd, the Blacksmith, powerful and strong, projecting battle hardened, battle tested determination to forge better weapons to fight the sheep's battles. But what I/We need to do is to pay attention! Do you believe this as well?
Let Us Pray: *The Prayer For Protection
The Light of God surrounds me.
The Love of God enfolds me.
The Power of God protects me.
The Presence of God watches over me.
The Mind of God guides me.
The Life of God flows through me.
The Laws of God direct me.
The Power of God abides within me.
The Joy of God uplifts me.
The Strength of God renews me.
The Beauty of God inspires me.
Wherever I am, God is!
* This prayer was written by James Dillet Freeman for all soldiers during World War II. It is as powerful today as it was then.
http://www.youtube.com/
Worthy is the Lamb - Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
www.youtube.com
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing Worthy is the Lamb (Thank you for the cross) I made my own
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