GOD'S HEDGE OF PROTECTION

 

Sometimes things just don't go right, no matter what we do. No
amount of personal or corporate prayers offered to God seems to
make any difference. In fact,  most often, situations get worse or
remain unchanged.

We know God is touched by our pain, even though sometimes
He seems to be on vacation, asleep, or too busy with more critical
issues. "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses" (Hebrews 4:15 NIV). On the other hand, the devil starts
the trouble and looks for more ways to make it as unbearable as
possible. He is determined to destroy us and our relationship
with God.

The promises of God are such that one will think life should
be smooth sailing for us. But not so! Instead, quite often, we run
into unbelievable problems. I believe we run into problems when
God removes His hand of protection and provision, making us
vulnerable. Why would God do something like that, knowing the
devil is like a roaring lion waiting to
pounce on us? (see 1 Peter 5:8).

There are at least two reasons:
• One, God is confident we can handle it and wants to
prove to the devil that we will go all the way with Him
no matter what. Scary thought indeed! Remember Job? He was
content to be a Godly man. He was not out to prove
anything to anyone, but God was. God started that whole
conversation with the devil about Job's integrity. Couldn't
He have left it alone? Suddenly, Job's world came
crashing down for no apparent reason. To make matters
worse, the miserable comforters (ignorant friends) who
went, supposedly to sympathize with him, only judged and
criticized him, adding insult to injury.

• Two, it could be there is sin in the camp! Remember
Achan? With God's help, the walls of Jericho 
collapsed, meaning a significant victory for the Israelites.
Ai, being a smaller city than Jericho, was going to be
undoubtedly a piece of cake for the Israelites to conquer,
but to their surprise, they were literally chased out of
town in disgrace. Why? Achan had sinned (see Joshua 7). All
of a sudden, they no longer had God's protection. In
Isaiah 5, God likened the Israelites to a vineyard He had
lovingly cared for that yielded rotten fruit. He responded, "I will take away its hedge, and it will
be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be
trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor
cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will
command the clouds not to rain on it" (Isaiah 5:5-6 NIV).

I believe the devil can only touch us when God
removes His hand of protection. (Giving him permission) If God
is out to prove something, we'll just have to go along with His
program, trusting Him to sustain us through the experience. On
the other hand, if it's because of sin in the camp, let's repent so we
can be restored.