Psalm 33 NLT
We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. (20-22)
The Psalmist says that the Lord is our help and our shield. This is actually two different things. First, He is our shield which means that God is constantly standing between us and the things that would harm us. His presence is ever near and His angels are always on duty. He sees danger before we do (whether physical or spiritual) and He stands ready to shield us and protect us. Imagine the number of accidents you avoided that you didn’t even know were possible because of His protection. Imagine the number of times that you could have been harmed by someone or something and yet God was on watch, allowing you to sleep blissfully ignorant while unknown threats loomed from every direction.
However, He is not just a shield. Sometimes, by His providence and divine grace, He allows something to get past the shield. Sometimes He allows problems to engulf us or sin to tempt us or hidden dangers to become very real in our everyday life. In those times, He chooses to be our helper instead of just a shield. Because He loves us, He allows us to occasionally face hardship and suffering. This is not a popular message in the age of the prosperity gospel but it is a biblical message. Without suffering we would not learn to lean on Him, we would not labor in prayer, and we would not be challenged to grow. Additionally, without suffering (and His subsequent help) we would forget to “praise” Him. We praise Him because of what He has done for us and we would not know these things if everything was perfect all the time.
God loves His children and is worthy of our Hope. His unfailing love surrounds us and we can trust Him. Whether He is actively shielding us from danger, sin, or suffering… or whether He is walking with us, hand in hand, helping us through the valley of loneliness, pain, or even death… His unfailing love surrounds us. He is always doing what is best for us and our hope is rightly placed in Him alone. He is our help when we find ourselves in problems and He is our shield the rest of the time. Nothing surprises Him and nothing gets to you that doesn’t go through Him first and is ultimately for your good and His glory.
