The Lord's protection

Acts 18:9-11 (NLT)

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”  So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

Have you ever experienced the Lord speaking to you in a vision?  We can be very skeptical of people who claim that God spoke to them personally.  Televangelists commonly make this claim.  It’s impossible to know if they are telling the truth, or if they are delusional, or if they are lying in order to leave the impression that they have special connections with the Almighty that no one else has.  Cult leaders are notorious for claiming that God told them to do this and that.  Indeed, beware of anyone who claims that he/she has received a special revelation from the Lord.  People who boast of this proclamation most likely are self-centered, unstable psychologically and aim to deceive others.   

However, God does speak to us through the listening part of our prayers and especially through His Word (which, of course, people in biblical times did not have so God by necessity needed to speak to them through visions until His Word was written down).  You certainly can be praying over some fear/anxiety and be reading biblical passages/verses that speak about not be afraid and, like Paul’s vision, you will feel like God is speaking to you personally.  The Bible is totally sufficient in providing guidance to you without the need for any special vision from God.  God has revealed His will for you through His Word and no longer needs to speak to people through special revelations.

God revealed to Paul and now reveals to you in this passage several truths that you should never forget:

1.   Do not be afraid—The Bible is very clear that you should never fear anyone (Heb 13:6) nor anything (Isa 41:10).

2.   Do not be silent—This is in reference to being bold in declaring your faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ (II Tim 1:7)

3.   God is with you—You do not need to pray “God, be with me”.  He always is with you even if you don’t “feel” like He is.  You must rely on your faith that He is always with you (Joshua 1:9, Heb 13:5)

4.   No one is going to attack and harm you—I admit that this promise sometimes is difficult to believe.  We know of many examples where God’s anointed followers (e.g. missionaries) have been physically harmed/killed. Even this promise to Paul did not last.  Yet there also are many more examples where Christians have been miraculously protected from harm and Paul was protected unless he had achieved God’s will for his life.  When you think about what a dangerous world we live in (crime, terrorism, natural disasters, accidents, illnesses, etc) it is very reassuring to believe in God’s truths that He protects you from most/all of these dangers (Proverbs 1:33, 12:21, 18:10, Psalm 91, Isaiah 41:10).

You’ve heard the old saying, “the closer you are to the Shepherd, the farther you are from the wolf”.  Trust in the Lord that His presence in your life will protect you.  Do not fear anyone or anything except fear (reverence) in the Lord.  Whatever fears and worries you have right now, lift them up to the Lord and ask Him specifically to guard and protect you.  Also ask for sufficient faith that will enable you to trust in His Word that promises to keep and protect you and your loved ones.  Amen.