Three Levels of Protection

UV 895/10,000 Three levels of Protection For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. Psalm 27 v 5 Since we human beings are fickle and faithless, it is only in times of trouble- the kind of trouble that we cannot handle ourselves with our wit, wisdom and resources- do we nestle close to the Lord like the sighting of the eagle drives the chicken to scurry to the mother hen’s wings. If we are believers, we will at least recognize who is the ‘ mother hen’ and what are her wings. Her wings are prayer and the Word. By resorting to fervent prayer and by reading, remembering and meditating on His Word, we hide in His pavilion. When we so hide in His pavilion, we are protected from the strife of tongues, as the Psalmist puts it. It is in such times of trouble that we recognize and realize the reality of God and His faithfulness to His Word. This is perhaps the reason that those who have faith have more trouble per head than the average worldly non-believer for the Lord does not have to bother with those who turn their back to Him and ignore Him in their lives. In police parlance, protection is organized in three rings- the outer cordon, the inner cordon and the isolation cordon. Similarly, the Lord protects us in His pavilion- the outer ring, the tabernacle- the inner ring and the rock- the isolation cordon. The second aspect of this uni-verse that assures protection is that He hides us in the secret of His tabernacle. His presence is our shelter, our stronghold and our house. Our bodies are His living tabernacle. His power will be manifest from within us and amongst us. He will release a secret weapon to preserve us from the intended evil. We will uncover a new resource or solution to the problem or challenge we are facing at the moment. Just as Jesus said, “ In my Father’s house, there are many mansions”, there are many types of rooms in His tabernacle. In one we will find rest and freedom from our unwarranted fears and worries. In another, we will find the grace to trust and praise God. In another part of the tabernacle, we will strength and hope. The third aspect is when the storm or the trouble has blown over. He will set us up on a rock foundation of faith in Him. He will enable us to re-build our lives. He is the rock that is much higher than I. We will be like the city that is built on a rock, emitting light from a million homes. When we are on the Rock, nobody and nothing can touch us. Our testimony or our story of faith and victory in God will reach a million people and inspire in them similar faith, courage and fortitude. Our lives will rock. We will enjoy what we do. We will sing songs of joy and deliverance like Merriam and Moses, once the danger or threat is clearly passed. We have crossed the Red Sea and the Jordan. Prateep V Philip