The LORD protects you; the LORD is a shelter right by your side. The sun will not strike you by day or the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. The LORD will protect your coming and going both now and forever. HCSB
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. NIV
True knowledge of the character of God eliminates fear and postions the child of God for divine healing and supernatural protection. Earlier in this psalm, the psalmist had affirmed that the Lord was the Keeper/ Protector of His people, Israel, now he personalises it by informing every child of God that ‘the Lord protects you watches over you.’ And he buttresses this simple statement by affirming further that He is a shelter or shade at your right hand.
The Lord is a shelter
The Lord is a shelter or a shade. This may be lost on those who live in cold weather and flock to the sun at those times of the year when it makes its presence felt. However, those who live in hot climates will easily appreciate the value and great protection afforded by the shade. When you are trudging home in the hot son, perspiring and weary, any place of shelter from the heat is greatly welcome. You stop to rest before you venture out again to face the sweltering heat and oh what joy when you finally step into your cool home, throw yourself on the couch and pour a glass of chilled water that has served time in the refrigerator. It is a deliverance of sorts. You are refreshed. Isaiah says about God. Isaiah 25:4 NIV- UK 4 You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
He is a shade from the heat, the heat being a factor of distress and discomfort in hot countries, men require that it be kept off them and the shelter becomes a place of refuge and protection. Not only is He a shelter, He is oh so near. That is what the imagery of the right hand signifies. The right hand is also the hand that does not carry a shield so is defenseless, so God comes in quickly to defend those who have no defense. Remember this verse ‘ keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.’? The presence of the Lord at his right hand keeps him strong and stable, irrespective of the circumstances. It keeps him from destruction.
We know how thieves break in when we are away from home or in the depth of the night when men are caught in the embrace of sleep. We have surveillance cameras that work round the clock in some places, others have 24-hour police escort. Some had, like we did, at times, growing up, a night guard and a day guard. And it was not uncommon that the night guard was caught blissfully sleeping the night away while leaving the gate unlocked. But not so with God. His protection is continuous and effective. That is why the psalmist affirms that He protects from all harm.
We all face potential perils whether it be in the material or the spiritual darkness of the world. Fear can creep in, anxiety, and the feeling that this will never be over. The antidote is to know and trust the God who is never caught off guard. He is never distracted, never caught sleeping on duty, and always attentive. There is nothing that remains hidden from Him. He is close to His children. Consider that as you wake up He is there, in the depth of the night, He is there, always attentive.
God, our keeper and protector
We can admire Him as the God of Israel, but we should love and know Him as our God, our Father who protects us. This is personal. He protects you because you are His child. Think on it, say it, mull it over. Let go of the feeling of vulnerability and weakness that often accompanies the realisation that our bodies are not functioning right and some ill has burrowed its way in and is proving stubborn. The shelter protects on the right hand, even without a shield, He stands close and delivers.
The great help of the Holy Spirit is in revealing the Father to us, such that we can know the nearness of God. Be encouraged by knowing that not only does He keep you and protect you, He is attentive in His nearness. Do not fear a sudden turn for the worse, unexpected complications, or any of the things that plague people when they are exercising their faith to receive their healing. God is close to you to protect you, and He will guide you away from danger.
No matter the situation, be it illness or anything else, remember that God has chosen for you to know He keeps you safe at all times, by day or by night. Fear neither sun nor moon, whatever that stands for in your circumstance. Tell it you refuse to be struck by day or night because your wonderful Father keeps you. And then, sleep like a baby.
We are secure in His protection.
Free from all harm
The Lord protects us from harm. This blanket statement covers all evil humans can possibly experience. In all these the Lord promises protection. This includes physical attacks, mental attacks, demonic attacks that cause infirmity, etc. Sickness is harmful and must be seen as so. The psalmist then boldly says He will protect your life. Can we see here that a child of God can expect to be preserved from life-threatening disease and all deadly attacks? It seems strange, but it is here written and true. We can renew our minds to see it.
If we cannot delete these passages from Scripture, then we will have to believe them. This is the promise, and we can expect it; possibly the only exception to this is when we choose to lay our lives down for the gospel. Harm is the devil’s stock-in-trade, sickness is not God’s gift to man, healing is. Damage, destruction, accidents, demonic oppression, satanic onslaught on the mind and the body are not God’s promise to man, they are a consequence of the fall, and we must boldly hold to the protection from harm and receive it by faith.
We can expect protection from all harm. The question is, can, and will we believe it? He protects, and we trust Him for protection, shod of all fear because He never sleeps nor slumbers. Every child of God can and should live with the active consciousness of God’s hand of protection over them. Meditate on the idea of God keeping you from all harm. What does that look like for you? It means His help is available in the pain, in removing the harm that has come to your body. He is able and available to expel the tumour, correct the dysfunction in the cells and anything else that is harmful to the body. We can trust Him for that today.
In psalm 97.10 the psalmist enjoins those who love the Lord to hate evil, declaring that the Lord protects the lives of His godly ones and rescues them from the power of the wicked. There is ample confirmation in Scripture that we can expect God to watch over our very lives. This all round protection is highlighted in the fact that the Lord protects our coming and going, now and forever. He offers comprehensive protection. This means that He protects you in all places, in all circumstances and at all times. Total and endless protection. It behoves us to think on these things.
