"The Lord is a Sun and Shield"

The splendor of autumn is in full swing… bold blue skies, bright green grass, and the brilliant crimsons, oranges, and golds of fall foliage present again their annual display of the masterful brush strokes of the Master Artist at work.  Even gray days remind us of God’s mastery over every single color in His creation. 

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1 NAS).

The brisk air of the morning in the waning of the year has no feel of fading for me; but instead has a freshness and newness that I find exciting:  even though winter is coming soon, I know that God is just preparing yet again the canvas so that He may paint new masterpieces in the year to come.

“Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men” (Psalm 66:5 NAS).

Thus, for me, although it is nearly Halloween and images of death surround us and advertise our collective fascination for morbidity, my mind and heart are filled instead with the greatness of God… a God Who is beautiful, gracious, and full of light.  Life, hope, peace, and joy flood my thoughts and my vision although many don’t see such things and choose instead to pay money to see death, fear, suffering, and loss in movie theaters or decorate their hearths and hallways with elements of the macabre or turn their children into diminutive icons of evil. 

“He who 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.  He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.  You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.  If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the LORD, Who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.  You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.  ‘Because he loves Me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name.  He will call upon 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 NIV). 

As I take note each clear morning that the piercing rays of dawn continue to defeat the darkness of night, I reflect on the power of the Son of God in conquering the gloom of the grave.  My heart bursts with the joy of the knowledge that God’s children are heirs to that same power and that fear can no longer keep in bondage those whose hearts are wholly His. 

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” (Psalm 27:1 NAS). 

I have found that whether we are standing in difficult circumstances, treading gloomy valleys of discouragement, or merely plodding along through the highways and by-ways of busy living, there remains only one answer to the hopelessness and fear that hold people today in their merciless grip:  the victory of Jesus over death. 

“I will exalt You, O LORD, for You lifted me out of the depths… O LORD my God, I called to You for help and You helped me.  O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; You spared me from going down into the pit” (Psalm 30:1-3 NIV). 

Halloween may be upon us, but I won’t notice much.  In spite of how hauntings and supernatural phenomena are trendy topics for October conversations, there is no fear for the child of God.  There is no power that can overcome the light and life that resides within the hearts of the sons and daughters of God.  And there is no darkness that the light of His truth cannot dispel.  After all, what does it take for light to defeat darkness?  When you’re feeling discouraged and wonder what difference you can make, just remember that light simply has to show up to turn back night.  If you have the light of Christ’s love in your heart, then don’t get overwrought with the battle that you feel must be fought with the powers of darkness… just be the person God has created you to be, filled with the attributes with which He desires to fill you.  His love, His wisdom, His hope, His joy, His courage, and His peace in your heart will win the battle through you. 

“As for me, I shall call upon God, and the LORD will save me….  He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me…. Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (Psalm 55:16, 18, 22 NAS). 

As you reach out to Him through faith in Christ Jesus, turning your back on selfishness and sin, know that He Himself is reaching out to you.  As you pursue Him through the reading of His Word, prayer, and in joining with other Believers in corporate worship and service, hungering for more of His sweet presence in your life, take note that there is nothing more that He desires of you than simply your trust…a trust so thorough and real that it manifests itself through your obediently turning the reigns of your life over to Him.

“Blessed are those whose strength is in You… they go from strength to strength….  Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; listen to me , O God of Jacob ….  Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.  For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.  O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You” (Psalm 84:5a, 7a, 8-12 NIV).

* Originally published October 26, 2006.

(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past fourteen years and is the  author of The Fairy Tale Parables:  Classic Fairy Tales Pointing to God's Love and Truth.  He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church and may be reached for comments or questions by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).