Our Protector

His huge outstretched arms protect you--
Under them you are perfectly safe;
His arms fend off all harm...
Psalm 91:4 Message

I wonder if you believe no harm will come to you if you "just trust God?"
It is an assumption, even among Christians, that if we simply trust God enough, nothing bad will ever happen to us. If something bad DOES happen, then either we weren't believing God enough or God is not good and no longer worthy of our trust.
But, here's the thing: bad things DO happen. All the time. Children die, cancer comes, houses burn.
So what's the deal? God's word says "His arms fend off all harm..." Yet, harm comes. Does God protect us or not?
I think we have to go back to defining harm and what is it that God is protecting us from?
For that, we have to look at what He says in the Bible. If we keep reading Psalm 91, we will find some good answers.
Verse 7 repeats this idea of "no harm will even graze you." It is not until we reach verses 9 and 10, do we begin to understand what harm is.
"Yes, because God's your refuge,
the High God, your very own home,
Evil can't get close to you,
Harm can't get through the door."
Harm, here, is defined as evil.
1 John 5:19 gives us further explanation: "The God-begotten are also the God-protected. The Evil One can't lay a hand on them. We know that we are held firm by God; it's only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the Evil One."
Harm is evil, perpetrated by the Evil One. That is what we are being protected from.
Cancer, prison, fires, death can FEEL evil. But in all those things God was protecting us.
My Best could have been sent 500 miles away to prison. Instead he was sent to the closest, nicest place possible. He should have died from cancer or at least be sick again or yet. But he is cancer free. There were ten people living in our house when it burned, but our God protected every one of us. There was not a hair on our heads, touched.
God protects. Period. And He protects, not just physically, but emotionally, spiritually.
It would have been so easy for me to be filled with bitterness, to walk away from my husband or my God. But God protected me from that, from the lies the Evil One wanted me to believe. Know that the Evil One is a Liar. God shields us from his deceptions.
Yes, bad things do happen. "It rains on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5:45. But God protects us from harm, from evil sent to destroy us.
Today, run to God and be safe. His arms are huge and they are outstretched to shield you. From all that seeks to destroy you.
Today, know that evil can't get close to you.
After all, "He ordered His angels to guard you wherever you go." Psalm 91:11