The Father's Protection

by Jeff Willis

As we wrap up this month’s theme on worship, I came across this photo of a father reaching out to protect his son just in time.

His son was pre-occupied, unaware of what was heading his way - a bat accidentally flung towards him and about to hit him in the face. The father, in an instant, reached in front of his son to take the blow from the bat and keep it from hitting his child in the face.

What a perfect illustration of how our Heavenly Father protects us! When we find ourselves pre-occupied with other things, distracted in our worship, we know that He will always come through on our behalf. The Bible talks about Satan roaming back and forth on the earth  seeking those whom he might devour. He wants to destroy you . But God, in all of His power and majesty, steps in to rescue us.

Psalm 91:1-3 says,[perfectpullquote align="full" cite="" link="" color="#83A8BC " class="" size=""] “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Whom I trust.” Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.”[/perfectpullquote]

The whole chapter Psalm 91 is awesome! You see, as we worship and open our hearts to the Father, it blesses His heart and He in turn blesses us. He protects, restores, heals, comforts, empowers, and equips us. His love never fails and He never turns us away. He is in passionate pursuit of our worship - always watching, calling to us, and waiting for us. I love how this Psalm wraps up in its final verses. This is what God thinks of you…

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16)

May we not wait until we find ourselves in a time of trouble to turn our hearts and cry out to God. Rather, let us be in constant pursuit of Him and in following His will. He loves it when we praise Him and call to Him. There is no greater thing we can do and give.

May your worship be testimony of a life surrendered to Jesus. That is TRUE WORSHIP. I hope and pray that these articles on worship have been an encouragement to you and challenged you to go deeper in your walk with the Lord.

If you'd like to learn more about the father and son in the photo above, watch this 3-minute news clip.