Psalm 3:3 “But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.”
‘Shield’ also has the meanings of guard, safeguard, shelter, and screen. God shields us from damage, keeps us out of harm’s way, stands up for us when we are accused, provides for us when we are in need, and screens everything that comes our way. Before anything can affect us, it must first pass God’s inspection.
The terrifying sensation of a rock hitting our windscreen has happened to many of us. We were shielded from harm by the glass. We are protected by our houses from the elements of nature, such as rain, snow, heat, and cold. But there is no refuge and no defender like God. Deuteronomy 33:27, which reads, “The eternal God is your refuge, and beneath are the everlasting arms.” This has been a beautiful verse of consolation to me many times over the years.
There may be moments in your life when you feel as though a truck load of bricks has been dumped on you. Whilst God is never the author of pain and disaster, He is also never caught unawares. Since before we were born He had planned to minister to us in the midst of that disaster. Painful events increase our faith in God – or they destroy it. The choice is ours.
I felt like I couldn’t handle it when our 14 month old granddaughter passed away from mitochondrial disease several years ago. But a few days after the hardest funeral I have ever conducted, I was really not coping well at all. God soon led me to a verse:
2 Corinthians 1:9 “Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
Tragically, the trauma of losing a child or grandchild can be a sentence of death for some. Many never recover. But as we lie at the bottom of that dark, agonisingly cold valley, we have a choice to trust God to be our shield – to protect us from dying inside through grief and loss – or we can try and rely on our own depleted resources. The latter will never work. Only God will get us on our feet and out of that valley.
The Bible contains numerous passages that describe God as our shield. Here are a few:
Psalm 91:4 “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart”
Psalm 119:114 “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.”
Psalm 84:11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.”