“But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy hill.” Psalm 3:3-4
If we haven’t already, we will all eventually find a struggle that seems “beyond us.” Sometimes, the odds seem insurmountable, and we just find ourselves longing for help and guidance and strength to stay the course. Time and time again, we can see through history how God stepped in to protect and guard His people in their times of trouble.
A flood was to sweep over the world, and God provided an ark to carry a remnant of people and animals safely, so that life would have another chance soon. Sheltered secure above the waves, Noah and the others saved knew the reality of God having shielded them. (Genesis 6)
Later, when a horrendous famine was coming, God gave His servant Joseph the wisdom to plan ahead, saving enough grain to preserve multiple nations when all other food was obliterated. Those saved knew God had shielded them from catastrophe and starvation. (Genesis 41)
A few generations later, God’s people were enslaved in Egypt, and God was determined to deliver them safely back to their homeland. Plague after plague swept through the Egyptians until they relented and let God’s people go, but God continually sheltered the district of Goshen where His own people dwelt… keeping from them the pestilence, suffering, and sickness visited upon their captors. Those saved knew they had been shielded by a merciful God. (Exodus 7-12)
The stories go on, thousands of years. With miracle after miracle, we see God’s divine intervention on behalf of His people, no matter the battle or difficulty in which they found themselves. He would continually shield those who took refuge in Him.
The Psalms held many such prayers that He would shield the one placing his trust in this good and faithful God. David, the writer of most Psalms, knew what it was to be unjustly harangued, to be hated without cause and assailed by his enemies. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him.” Psalm 28:7 David knew, so well, that his very life depended upon God shielding him and giving help in his hour of need… and God did both so faithfully, as David leaned close, trusting Him fully.
This is a faithful God, forever willing to help those who call to Him in faith and trust. Sometimes, ever so beautifully, He allows others around us to be an extension of His hands and heart into our life, giving the help and encouragement we so desperately need.
One of my favorite stories finds Israel in a struggle against the Amalekites during the Exodus years. Joshua was in the valley leading the Israelite army, while an aged Moses watched and prayed from the hill overlooking the fight. God would give grace in the battle and sustain the Israelites… as long as Moses held up his hands in petition over the warring armies.
As the day wore on, however, Moses’ strength began to falter; his hands would slip down, and the battle would begin to turn against them. Two of his closest advisors saw this and drew near, each holding up one of his arms, until the sun had set, and the battle had proved victorious for the people of God.
You see, sometimes God’s provision will come in unexpected ways, as He brings others around us to bear more clearly His heart in this world. When we need His shielding, His might, His help… all we need do is call upon His mercy and wait for Him to faithfully draw near… in whatever way and through whatever means He deems best.
Psalm 33:20 says, “Our souls wait for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”
We need only wait on this good God to prove Himself as faithful yet again, as He always has. In His perfect time He will come to help us.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Galatians 4:4-7
Jesus was born and all the waiting of our hearts came to perfect fulfillment of the promises of a good God… In His Son, we were saved, we were called sons, and we were helped—shielded by the One Who Himself became mercy.
“…because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us, from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79)
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“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (excerpt)
Latin hymn
translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866)
O Come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God apperar.
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!
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-Amy Rutherford, 2023-
If you’d like to listen to “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” it’s track 4 on our album streaming here:
http://artists.landr.com/064837238814
