Deuteronomy 32:10
“He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.”
The Lord wants to guard us. The first order of business is to accept His forgiveness and trust Him as lord. He forgives us and we become His child. Prior to that His actions are “at a distance”. He can and will work, but He respects our decisions. He won’t force His will upon us. If we haven’t submitted to Him, then we haven’t chosen Him.
However, once His, our lives are in His hands. This doesn’t mean we won’t suffer difficulties. We will be tested. Yet, it won’t be beyond what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). These difficulties will be used to make us better.
What does He guard us from? There are plenty of destructive forces. We are all in different life circumstances and can imagine our concerns. Young people can experience bullying. Young adults fear failure. Vices are around the corner for many. There is physical illness. We might be in perfect health, but the next minute, we’ve suffered an injury.
There are spiritual forces out there that are enemies of God. Therefore they seek to hurt Him by harming us (Ephesians 6:12,16). The devil will plant thoughts in our minds which trigger any of the issues discussed. He also is the master of deception and temptation. He has fooled our culture into accepting habits and mindsets that God tells us to avoid.
The Israelites were the original audience of this verse. They had Pharaoh and the powers of Egypt that had abused them for centuries. They had been enslaved. They were used for the profit of others. They weren’t free. Later there were foreign armies that sought them harm. However the Lord protected them. He will also defend us. He sifts life’s circumstances and lets that in that which matures us. We will be affected and be distressed. However, He’s there protecting us.
Lord, thank You for Your protection. Help us to trust in Your protection and guidance.