Never Ever Abandoned [Protection]

soroca-fortress01

“For my enemies are whispering against me.
    They are plotting together to kill me.
11 They say, “God has abandoned him.
    Let’s go and get him,
    for no one will help him now.”

Psalm 71:10-11

David had real enemies. There were those who wanted to destroy him. So what does he do? He prays. This is his only defense.

He doesn’t order a counter attack. He doesn’t bolster his defensive fortifications. He simply prays. David has come to the conclusion that this one thing is going to save him.

Psalm 71 is infused with this attitude. He is gone far beyond human maneuvering and has zero hope other than a direct intervention from God,

“We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

2 Corinthians 4:9

Paul writes of his own issues with those who wanted him destroyed. He knows first-hand of the viciousness of men. He tells us the powerful truth that Satan simply can’t penetrate the tender care of God for our souls.

When we talk of enemies we must include the very real world of Satan and demons, Perhaps you have a demon or two assigned to you? The darkness is not a nebulous or theoretical thing. It is as real as you or I. It just exists on a spiritual plane.

But you are defended by God, and “His nearness is our good.” He will never abandon us. We may take some blows but they are “dampened” by the Spirit of God. We may feel the sting but never the full blow.

Dear one, rest in His care. Take shelter in His fortress. Your simple faith will protect you through the worst the enemy can generate against you.

Concentrate on the word “my” in the following verse. There are seven of them.

“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

“There is no neutral ground in the universe; every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter-claimed by Satan.”

 –C.S. Lewis

ybic, Bryan

 

cropped-christiangraffiti1 (3)

 

 

Author: Pastor Bryan Lowe

A repentant rascal with definite issues, but who is seeking to be authentic in his faith to Jesus Christ. An avid reader and a hopeful writer. Husband and father. A pastor and Bible teacher. A brain tumor survivor. Diagnosed with clinical depression, and now disabled. Enjoys life, such as it is, in Alask.a (Actually I have it pretty good.)

15 thoughts on “Never Ever Abandoned [Protection]”

  1. Pingback: Members of the Misery Club | Christianity 201

  2. I am in the darkest hours I have ever known! I am desperate and contemplating life and death at this very moment. I need Christ , I need to know which way to go, I am lonely and scared, can he hear my cries, I am on the brink of no return. I want to live, but I fear the streets. I’m a Mom, a Grandmother, I am so scared I would rather take my life than go out into the night alone. I feel so much pain. This world of so many people and I can not find a soul, not one person
    That seems to care. My own sister turns her back on me, after loosing our Father our ONLY
    brother, now our Mother. What kind of Christian does this to her only sister? I can’t believe
    how much it hurts, this isn’t what life is suppose to be.
    Please Lord hear my cries! Please!

    Like

    1. Hey, Karen, I hope you’re okay. If I hadn’t been in the same place before, I would offer you trite cliches and idiotic advice. The only thing I can offer right now is at least a fact as to why caring people are hard to find.

      I was once living in a homeless shelter in 2009, because my Christian ‘brethren’ had abandoned me, and was having a very hard time. I then happened on Philip Yancey’s book ‘Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?’ A few pages in, I asked God why so many Christians I knew had prayed for me and were praying for me at that time but I still had no change in my circumstances (which had to do with more than just being homeless). He (if you believe that God still speaks) gave me a short reply: “Because those who pray don’t act.” About two weeks later, I was still in that homeless shelter and had to sit and listen to a sermon before dinner. I asked God why people have to suffer needlessly when there are so many people in this world who can help, and He replied, “Because God cares but people don’t.”

      I rarely hear from God directly like that, but His message was clear and began to make sense to me: God cares; people don’t; but God works here on earth through human beings, and if people are not willing to show the care that He wants them to, then He cannot work. Jesus explained this in the story of the good Samaritan, showing that it is so customary for ‘good people’ (the priest and Levite, believers) to not do good that ‘bad people’ (the Samaritan, an unbeliever) are more likely to do good so much so that He used an unbeliever as an example to believers and said to the believers, “God and DO likewise.” Before responding to your comment, I just got off the phone with a famous pastor who calls himself an apostle, asking if he knew a healthy church in this area. He didn’t like my implication that churches can be UNhealthy and lambasted me, telling me that I’m condemning Christians and that I must learn to be self-sufficient. He told me that he knows better than me since he has gotten so many saved and has hundreds of ‘ministry sons’… then he hung up on me. This is the reality today: you will get more love and caring from unbelievers than from your own family and Christians. What advice can I give to you in your struggle? The only one that is reality to me in mine:

      “Oh Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever” (Ps. 131:3).

      Like

  3. I am confused and it hurts a lot. God says He will never abandon me. If everything in my life is not “right”, doesn’t that mean that God doesn’t hear my prayers? I’m responsible for causing hurt in two lives I love very much. It was years ago, but they still have to deal with it. What does it mean that God will never abandon me, yet doesn’t hear my prayers?

    Like

    1. I have the same issue with unanswered prayers. Many people are struggling with that. God hears our prayers; but the reasons for a lack of answers can be many. The problem is we don’t know what’s going on between us ‘down here’ and Him ‘up there’. Sometimes, spiritual warfare in the heavenlies ‘between earth and Heaven’ hinders God’s answers; other times, it can be wrong heart attitudes. There are many possibilities; the hardest part is probably researching the reasons for unanswered prayers in your life until you find them.

      Like

      1. Thanks for your reply – I’ve been researching this problem for nearly 8 years during which the trauma in my loved ones has been the worst. I’ve struggled with being convinced of God’s interaction or interceding just hasn’t been there. I’m sure I’m wrong about that, but I sure do feel helpless, hopeless, and am enduring a lot of rejection. I deeply appreciate your prayers.

        Like

      2. Prayers sometimes don’t do much if they aren’t specific or targeted. What are the specific things you need prayer for?

        You said you’ve “been researching this problem for nearly 8 years.” I surmise you mean the issue of unanswered prayers. I’ve prayed a lot about why prayers aren’t answered for about the past 13 years, since 2003. The Bible gives a great deal of possible hindrances to prayer (eg. when there’s disharmony in a marriage), but I began to understand a fairly large missing link in whether or not a prayer is answered in 2009. I mentioned it in my response to Karen above: a lack of people who are willing to be vessels for God’s use; most people will just pray for you, but many times, the situation requires that someone get up and act behind their prayers. Since faith is in the hole today and therefore most people’s prayers make no difference, action is even more required in our day. When God began showing me this in 2009, I began to say, “People answer prayers.”

        What do you mean that you’re going through a lot of rejection? I’m willing to pray for you, but I need a little info. about what’s going on and what, if anything, you’ve received in prayer or the Word (what has God told you) about your circumstances.

        Like

      3. My prayers are very specific and for other people and situations. I’ve been grieving losses for a very long time. I’m disabled – this month there was a “glitch” – my SS was wrong and Medicaid withdrew my housekeeper, their payments on my dr. bills, and lowered food stamps to $16. I’m praying the corrections will be made so I’ll be ok in June. This month is very harsh. I haven’t seen my kids for a long time and as a mother I blame myself. I reach out but it doesn’t mean anything. One of my adult children has gone thru a long-time trauma, so I’m trying to be understanding. He’s really the one who needs prayers even more than I do. The “roof” has caved in on both of us.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Sorry. That sounds like a lot of loss. I hope you have someone there with you to give you support. It’s easier said, but you shouldn’t blame yourself for your kids’ choices. My mom was as good as my dad allowed her to be (he was very controlling), but all her kids were basically estranged from her, and it wasn’t her fault.

        It sounds like the roof indeed has caved in for some of you. I used to look for answers to some of these problems, but sometimes the only answer is “hope in God.” David and Job and some of the people in the Bible went through these kinds of things. In our times, we see these biblical stories as archaic and forget that they apply to us today still: people still suffer for no good or logical reason. This is ‘the dark side of the Bible’ that no one wants to talk about. We were created to enjoy, not to suffer; but Adam and Eve changed the rules on everyone, and now suffering has become ‘normal’.

        For me, part of the struggle is that I fell from a very high place to a place where people who others would place under me started treating me like I was under them. “Hope in the Lord” is all I have, and though it’s everything, it sure doesn’t seem like much. “Hope in God.”

        “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning— yes, more than those who watch for the morning” (Ps. 130).

        Like

      2. Thank you for your kind words. I’m having a rough day – Mother’s Day and not hearing from my kids now four years in a row. One has gone thru great trauma and has affected his life, so I try to understand. It’s still very painful, tho. Thank you for caring.

        Like

      3. char i went trhoug great trauma was forsaken by my father and mother but God healed me and today I take care of my mother she has alzheimer my father also ill but he does not live with us by choice I love both deeply in my heart all was a GOD’s gift for me – glaucia hoppe

        Like

  4. Thank you. You have reminded me that I am not alone and helped restore peace to my harried soul. Bless you.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ll pray for you “Bloom” and for all others here. When things get even worse I have to remind myself that God must be my first focus. God bless you all.

      Like

Comments are closed.