The Promise: The Lord Will Keep You from Harm

By Zachary Groff - Posted at The Place for Truth:

The United States Secret Service is the federal law enforcement agency primarily responsible for protecting high-profile government figures and for conducting investigations into criminal activity targeting the country’s financial infrastructure. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Service spent around $2.5B, over $1B of which was committed to protecting a total of 53 individuals, most notably the President and Vice President of the United States of America. The purpose for this significant expense is relatively simple: keep the designated “protectees” from harm.

As impressive as this billion-dollar federal operation may be, God’s promise to His covenant people to keep them from harm is infinitely more grand. World leaders and their campaigns come and go, but the commitment which the covenant-keeping Lord of heaven and earth has made to His people endures forever. If you look to Christ for salvation, the Lord will keep your immortal soul from the ultimate ravages of sin: unbearable judgment and everlasting torment in the unquenchable fires of an eternal hell. In the here and now, the Spirit of God will sustain and protect you from the assaults of the world, the flesh, and the devil in your pilgrimage through this treacherous world. In place of wrath, God will remember mercy.

This doctrine of God’s promise to be a refuge to His people in distress must be understood in its proper context so as not to be confused with the empty promises of so many “health, wealth, and prosperity” preachers. Beware of the religious charlatan that claims that God will keep you from physical harm, social intimidation, economic poverty, medical trials, religious persecution, and political oppression. Typically, such false teachers extoll the efficacy of “having enough faith” or “seeding” some tangible proof of your faith (e.g., a donation to a particular ‘ministry’ or cause bearing the teacher’s imprimatur in some form). But God sets up no such machinery for a life of ease.

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