Daily devotional, October 18, 2023 Wall of fire

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

Wall of fire, force field, electrified fence, barbed wire – these are perimeter guards meant to protect lives and possessions. Walls of the olden days are meant to keep enemies and prying eyes from launching attacks. thousands of years later, such safeguards are still being used for protection.

People also have their own personal guards, and I do not mean body men or security personnel. Each individual has his or her own, and it sort of activates as soon as he feels insecure. In a safety sense, people have this inner alarm that tells them to leave a particular area to avoid harm; in an emotional sense, it may trigger someone to clam up and just stop responding or leave the situation altogether.

Whether our personal guards are over active or calm, one thing is for sure, that the Lord has promised to protect us from both the seen and unseen danger lurking around us. We just have to ask Him: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).

As long as we abide in the Lord’s commands, He vows to take care of us “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 118:6). He even goes as far as assuring us that He will fight the wicked who will destroy us. The Book of Deuteronomy has many of these promises, one of which is this verse: “I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run,” (Exodus 23:27),

While the enemies of today are not like that of yesteryear’s’ where we would need to physically defend ourselves, the Lord still does not waver in His promise to cover us with His mantle of protection. Most of today’s enemies would be haters, people who malign other people’s reputation for no reason, covetous people who may be plotting one’s ruin for their own gain, and plain bad people with bad intentions. What we should understand though is that the Lord protects us from these shadowy forces that hurt both our bodies and spirits, as long as we have a personal relationship with Him. This promise can be found in Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

And if in case these bad people managed to hurt us because the Lord has allowed that for some reason, we need not exact our own revenge because the Lord promises to fight for us. This promise can be found in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, the vow can be found in the Book of Deuteronomy: “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’” (Deuteronomy 32:35). Paul the Apostle quoted this passage in Deuteronomy in his Letter to the Romans: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

God has never promised a problem-free, enemy-free life for us. What He guarantees though is that He has our backs as we journey through life: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2).

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Isaiah 41:8-20 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Have you surrendered all your fears to the Lord?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, I praise and thank you for taking away all my fears and for vowing to fight for me in my distress. Truly, I will put in your hands everything that bothers me because these are just small things to you, and as your child, I will fully trust that you will deal with these for me. Amen.