Shield - Sunday February 28, 2016
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. Psalm 18:2 NLT
The house near Seattle, Washington, where my wife grew up has become somewhat of a second home to us, a place where we can watch movies, go boating on the lake, or go on extended runs in the surrounding wilderness.
During one of these runs these verses came alive in a whole new way. As I was running in the thick of the forest (across the street from my in-law's home), I came face to face with a wild black bear! I cannot remember a time when I was so suddenly overwhelmed with paralyzing fear. Growing up in Utah, I have seen my fair share of wild life, but I have never run into a bear.
The bear was less than 20 feet away from me, and I knew it saw me. In my mind I prayed that the Lord would be a shield around me and protect my life as I started to quietly back away. The bear watched me move until I was no longer in sight, and then I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction towards the house!
Once back home I shared my whole story to a very captive audience. I joked that it would be just like me to be mauled by a bear on vacation. But it also gave me the opportunity to share the truth of these verses: God did indeed protect me and was, in fact, a shield around me.
This week it is unlikely that any of you will come upon a bear face to face – but it is highly likely that you will need the Lord. Whatever the circumstances may be, cry out to Him! He is our protection and our shield against the world, the flesh, the devil… and even bears!
Submitted by:
Steele Croswhite
The Rock
Salt Lake City, Utah
One-Year Reading Plan:
Leviticus 22:17-23:44
Mark 9:30-10:12
Psalms 44:1-8
Proverbs 10:19
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SCRIPTURE REFERENCB-ES: Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible B) The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the Holy, Bible, New International Version, copyright B) 1973, 1978, 1984 by InternaB-tional Bible Society; (NKJV) are from New King James Version B) 1982 by Thomas Nelson; (NLT) are from the New Living Translation, B) 1996, Tyndale House Publishers; (ESV) are from English Standard VersionB., B) 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers; (TM) are from The Message B) 1993 by NavPress Publishers.