Exodus 12:23
“For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.”
While reading this passage a phrase jumped out, He “will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.” The immediate context is about ancient Egypt. A present application is that there are people or entities that seek our harm. Adults are more subtle. However, working with teenagers I see kids seeking to embarrass or harrass others. This is to the extent that schools need to enact antibullying campaigns. All of us intersect with people that are difficult. They can make us miserable. Depending on how we respond, it may get worse. This is hardly a destroyer. However, God cares about anything that causes us grief. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” No matter how small, God wants us to bring our concerns to Him. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” There is safety in Him. I love the imagery. I picture a mideivil battle and I see arrow flying and the enemy on our heals. We barely escape by running into the tower and locking the door. We can climb to the top and get visibility. We can see our enemy leaving. Sometimes our desperation is so great all we can do is call out to Jesus.
God protects against the destroyer. There is a spiritual world and in it are angels and demons. As far as the demons, it would make their day to destroy ours. Due to their own fall, they became twisted. Their joy is our harm. From what I understand they gain influence over us by our submitting to wrong. If we gossip, give in to anger, are arrogant, open our minds by drugs and alcohol abuse, and more, we become vulnerable. I realize demons are the content of horror movies. We don’t like to think about this. The devil is the great deceiver. He disguises his destructive acts. He wants us to see him a football mascot or a cartoonish figure. We laugh it off. He’s won if we disbelieve or see him as silly. In reality, they are powerful and seek us harm. When we accept Christ, He becomes a firewall. However, if we dabble in the above list, we get burnt. Some of our grief is self imposed. We reep what we sow. Once we get away from bad attitudes and habits, our lives get better. As we trust in Christ, He regulates what gets to us. That which He does allow, He won’t let us get overwhelmed as we look to Him. Lord, thank You that You keep us from the destroyer.