S197P6 – The fruit of his holy presence: protection

Psa. 9:1-4

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.  I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.  When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.  For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

When I was growing up, there was always trouble somewhere.  If I was not having problems with kids at school and being bullied, then there was conflict with other boys in the neighborhood.  Sometimes, I was able to hold my own and protect myself, but most times the competition was just too strong for me.  I remember one time in particular when I had a real fear of walking home from elementary school by myself.  I finally caved and told my parents, and I begged for something to be done.  The next day, I walked out of that school to be surprised by my father waiting there to pick me up.  It was a glorious thing to be in his presence in that moment knowing that having him there would diffuse my enemies.  My dad only had to show up to make the trouble disappear.

We have a bully in our midst who wants to intimidate and harm us.  He likes to push and prod us, always looking to start a fight.  He is relentless, and it can seem to us like he simply will not go away.  We can try to take on these battles on our own, but we are not strong enough within ourselves.  However, if we call on our Father and his presence, then the enemy will flee.  When God shows up, the devil is diffused.  God’s presence is not only a place of safety and security but also a place of power over evil.  This is why it is so critical for believers to constantly seek and remain in the presence of God.  It should not be a place that we visit on occasion or when we happen to have the time.  If we follow the advice of the scriptures and remain in constant communion with our Father, then we can remain continually in his presence.

The devil is not scared of you or of me.  When we show up on the scene, we are nothing but an appetizer for him.  He sees us as easy targets, which we are when we are on our own.  It encourages him to know that he is craftier and stronger than we are.  He wants us to think that standing on our own will be sufficient for the victory.  He wants to trick us into inflating our own egos because it will surely lead to our downfall.  What we need to do is remember that our presence is insufficient to defeat the devil; he has no fear of us.  It is the presence of our Father in heaven that can do so, and we should want to remain there always.  Father, thank You for the protection we find in your presence, knowing that your word promises that You will not forsake us.