Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Protector (12/05/24)
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TITLE: God's Hand Of Protection | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
12/11/24 -
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He may have done so by direct intervention, through angelic intervention, through other people, or through governmental, medical, and social systems that He has established for that purpose.
No one leaves this world before his or her divinely appointed time, or remains here beyond it. Our dates of birth and death were established before we took our first breath.
When God lifts His protective hand, He controls the extent of resulting consequences that the world, the nation, a group, or an individual will experience.
Many of us struggle to understand why God allows such things as plagues, food shortages, financial hardships, wars, terrorists bombings, mass school shootings and random acts of violence against unsuspecting and undeserving victims to take place, when it is we, as a nation, that is reaping the seeds that we have sown (1).
Just as evil people living in a godly nation can experience the blessings of God, good people in a rebellious nation suffer along with the evil ones, when the nation comes under the increasing levels of discipline (2).
Keep in mind that the evil that opened the door for discipline, manifested itself when “relatively innocent” people stood by and did nothing to impede its development.
I am not dismissing personal accountability on the part of mass murderers, but more than one has turned out to be a prior victim of prolonged abuse or perceived injustice, while many others in the setting stood by and did nothing to intervene.
For example, many mass shooters chose to end their own pain by suicide, either self-inflicted, or at the hands of responding law enforcement. But not before “substitutionary sacrifices” (teachers, students, bosses, employees) from WITHIN the system or location that the shooter held responsible, are taken down in retaliation.
We ask what would motivate the shooter to commit such a heinous act, but like Pontius Pilate, we as a society, try to wash our hands clean from all culpability for allowing such a hostile environment to develop.
Emotional bullying has taken place in the earliest grades of our educational system, and social settings.
. . .
Contributing to the violence is the perceived “justification” (3) for the “elimination” of all perceived “infidels” and “heretics,” along with the defacing, desecration (4), and or destruction of their places of worship.
Yet, even in the midst of such violence, death, and destruction, we can see the protective hand of God limiting the loss of life and damage.
The plan of God for the human race WILL continue to move forward on His schedule, in spite of the devil’s desire to prevent it, and Man’s persistent bent towards self-destruction.
Along the way, some will suffer survivors guilt, wondering why they were spared while others they perceived to be more deserving, lost their lives.
The reason is that time of departure for the departed ones had come, whereas the individual part in the plan of God for those left behind had not been yet been completed.
God has used, is using, and will use very good and very evil persons to ultimately fulfill His plan for the human race. Some impact a few, others impact millions, by their good or evil deeds.
When large-scale events such as 9-11 terrorist attack on the Towers in New York take place, we later hear of stories of how unplanned events prevented many others from otherwise being there when disaster struck.
Such “unplanned” events, I believe, take place every day in the lives of billions of people around the world, that was the result of God protecting them from what otherwise would have been a life-changing or life-ending event.
Such events were/are not planned by the ones impacted, but were planned, sent, or allowed to take place by God, who controls ALL things.
God’s ways are not our ways (5), so we will not always understand why or when He lifts His protecting hand.
But advancing disciples, having the Phil. 1: 21 outlook, can live in the confidence that He is in charge, has their best interests in mind (6), and that God is in complete control of their circumstances.
“To live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil.1: 21 NASB 2020 parenthesis mine).”
(1) Gal. 6: 7 (2) Lev. 26: 14ff/Heb. 12: 6 (3) John 16: 2 (4) 2Kings 10: 27 (5) Isa. 55: 8 (6) Rom. 8: 28
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After a few years of life under my belt, I realize it doesn’t take much spiritual insight to see how God’s protective hand has worked to bring me to this stage of my life. It's a subtle difference, but feels less "preachy" to me. Beside that, I think you did an excellent job researching verses to prove your point. You definitely nailed the topic, made me think, and delivered a clear message. Nicely done.