God's protection is not automatic. There are choices you have to make for God to be your refuge.
The Bible is filled with accounts of God's supernatural protection. Remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the fiery furnace? What about Daniel and the lion's den? God has no problem bringing you out of threatening circumstances. Time and again He has proven He is well able to get the job done.
But God's protection is not automatic. There are choices you have to make for God to be your refuge. The psalmist says: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust'” (Ps. 91:1-2, NKJV).
You must be like the psalmist. He has made the choice to dwell, or abide, in the secret place of the Most High. He makes his abode there in order to receive the protection Psalm 91 promises. His dependence is on God. And he stays stable and fixed under God's shadow by being obedient. The good things of God are his.
Living on purpose in God is the only safe place to live. Protection is for the resolute—those who have resolved to walk with God.
One Jewish commentary says, “When a person is resolute [determined, sold out, dedicated, single-minded] in his faith and recognizes God's presence everywhere, he is protected from all sides.” The commentary says David was one of those people who saw himself in God, enveloped and invulnerable from every side and from every direction.
The protection of God is a tangible force. The recognition of the power and protection of God, the commentary says, “constitutes a dynamic force which fortifies those who possess it and protects them from evil.”
Throughout God's Word we find that when we walk with God, we are encompassed, encircled, covered and overshadowed by His goodness and protection. That shows just how powerful God's promise of protection really is!
Another thing you have to do to ensure God's protection besides living in God and obeying Him is to speak your faith. The psalmist declares, “I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress'” (v. 2, emphasis added).
Faith has to be in two places-in your heart and in your mouth. First, you must agree mentally with what the Word says in order to get it into your heart. Then it has to be in your heart to such a degree that it overflows. That comes only by spending time seeking God and His Word. Then as Jesus said, “'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks'” (Matt. 12:34).
Making God the one on whom you depend for your security has to get into your heart to come out of your mouth with power. You have to be able to say in faith, “He is my refuge and my fortress!” You have to trust God for your protection and say so!
When you dwell in the secret place, declare God is your refuge, and lean and rely on Him, you will receive all the benefits of God's protection stated in Psalm 91:3-5.
These are serious days. It's no time to be sitting on the fence being double-minded. You must decide where you are going to dwell-where you are going to put your trust and dependence.
Your dependence is not going to be on God unless you spend time with Him and His Word, because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. By spending time in the Word and obeying it, you will become fully persuaded that God is faithful.
So start digging into the Word like precious treasure. Spend time studying the promises of protection and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal them as truth in your own life.
Be diligent to declare that the Lord is your refuge. Do whatever God directs you to do. Be obedient!
When you continually dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you will walk in God's blessings. Like David, you will wear the armor of God and be surrounded by His protection on all sides.
Gloria Copeland is co-founder and vice president of Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas. She and her husband, Kenneth, are known for their teachings on faith, healing and victorious Christian living. Their daily TV broadcast, Believer's Voice of Victory, airs globally on more than 300 stations. Gloria is also an internationally known author whose works include To Know Him and Blessed Beyond Measure (Harrison House).
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