Personal Protection 360 Degrees

UV 3499/10000 Personal Protection 360 Degrees
Keep me ( in Your affectionate care, protect me) as the apple of Your eye; Hide me in the (protective) shadow of Your wings.

Psalm 17 v 8

This is David’s prayer for protection from his oppressors. He spoke the prayer sincerely from guileless lips. He expected the Lord to vindicate him. He promised not to allow his mouth to transgress. He committed himself to stay away from the paths of the violent. Yet he know that many deadly enemies surrounded him, waiting to track him and tear him apart. He cried for the Lord’s protection. He wanted the Lord to encircle him like the eyelids cover the pupil, the apple of the eye. He desired 360 degrees protection or all round protection. The Lord does not just have our backs but He hems us in all sides like a hedge. The enemy, also, tries to penetrate that hedge to attempt to ruin the vineyard of our loving relationship with the Lord by using the little foxes of our own fallen nature.

The Lord’s protection of His people is personal, intimate, comprehensive. He protects us as we are loved by Him. When we are the pupil of God’s eye, we perceive our threats and dangers accurately, ahead of time and effectively. Having perceived the threat, we can take refuge or hide in the wings of the Lord. The enemy is more than a match for us. He is cunning, malevolent, dangerous as a thief, a robber and a murderer, all rolled into one. He operates through many human agents as well as spirits. We need to be aware of his machinations and plots to harm or destroy us, our testimony, our health, our future. We need to have a sensitive spiritual radar to track the moves of the enemy at any given point in our lives. Then, we need to take cover under the promise of protection of the Lord and hide in him even as the pupil hides under the eyelids when it perceives any direct hit or hurt to the eye.

The Lord holds out the guarantee of protection to us by saying, “ Whoever touches or harms you is touching the apple of My eye.” Our threats and enemies may be visible or invisible, spiritual or physical, known or unknown but the Lord promises to take them on. It is as if we are part of Him, part of His body, as it were. If a small part is hurt, the whole body is hurt. Hence, if we are hurt or threatened, it is as if the Lord is hurt or threatened. The consequences can be deadly for those who unjustly seek our harm. Once we have a right standing or a personal relationship with the Lord, it becomes His responsibility to safeguard us.