God Covers Us with His Protective Hand

“This is not about guardian angels in popular Hollywood scenes,” Moody Bible Commentary explains. “’Encamps around’ speaks of the security the Lord provides His people collectively.” The way the Lord goes before us isn’t allusive, it’s a faithful promise. He knows the number of our days, and has created each one of us with purpose.

The most frustrating part of parenting might just be watching something bad happen despite the effort to prevent it. Parents know, we can do all of the right things, and still watch our children endure heartache. Some are bullied, and we can’t fix the damage it does. Others are diagnosed with incurable diseases, and there’s little we can do but comfort them through treatment. Watching something preventable happen is hard; traveling through a season without end which we couldn’t stop or fix is unbearable.

Our heavenly Father cares about the pain we endure on this earth. So much so, it is not beyond His reach to relieve us of pain, to heal us. And if not, to shield us from danger, comfort us in affliction in a supernatural way, or faithfully uphold those who seek him ardently. Christ Jesus knows our pain, our burdens. He’s already gone to the cross to declare victory over all of them. He will return, faithfully as He promised, for His people. That day, there will be no more pain, sadness, death, nor preventable or inevitable bad things happening to innocent people, even to our children.

The hope we hold onto in Christ is proclaimed in Psalm 34:7-9. The Message paraphrase reads:

We can worship the Lord in good times and bad, when bad things are prevented and when bad things inevitably happen. Through the pain of this world, He is good. Though we endure hardship, He is still our shield. Abba. Jirah. Yahweh. Glory to Him in the highest.

Additional Resources:

NIV Study Bible, Copyright © 1985, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2011 by Zondervan.

Moody Bible Commentary. Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Copyright 2014. 

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Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.