Cold waves blow for some days during the winter season. Winter season and summer season can both be extreme in the place I live. The winter hasn’t been kind to me although it lasted for a short period of time. So I shield myself in my affordable way.
My woolen cap, compassionately hand-knitted by my wife, came in handy for me as I need to shield myself from the cold waves. Especially after my brain surgery, it pains my head inside-out although I wouldn’t talk in detail here. The cold waves seem to entering my head from where the surgeons had opened my skull.
Sometimes it feels odd to wear my woolen cap, day in-day out, wherever I go. But I need to shield myself to protect my sensitive head, which saved me from the resultant excruciating pain. I hope it will take some more or less time to shield myself.
My woolen cap, in some other’s head, might not bring that much amount of comfort as it did to me. For this simple yet very much-needed accessory I am more than thankful.
Now for starters, let’s define what shield or shielding is, in very short. That, we might get a brief view of what we are talking about:
Shield, in its verb form, is to protect from an unpleasant experience, danger or risk. While in its noun form, shield is an object or thing providing protection or a safeguarding tool. It is more of a cover, shade, security, shelter, and many more.
Shielding Ourselves:
Since we cannot live without protection, we build houses, fencing, and the likes, to protect ourselves from immediate and intervening threat or dangers. At some level, we play diplomacy at the cost of shield ourselves and our countrymen from intervening outside interest, which may harm our well-being.
Everyone work hard so that we may shield ourselves from unprecedented mild disaster, by gathering wealth and through some insurance covering our life. We secure jobs, shielding ourselves at some level. Some of us blew our chances due to their own incompetency in handling matters, health, work and family, relating to it.
But our real shield is from and the Lord. Blessed is he who takes shelter in the Lord. As king David declared: the Lord is my strength and my shield. The Lord is their shield and their help to those who trust in Him.
Jonah’s Temporary Shield:
Now I wanted to take you again for a short moment into Jonah’s life, as mentioned in the final chapter of the Old Testament book Jonah. (Jonah Chapter 4)
Jonah was sent to the City of Nineveh. In short, God blessed his efforts and the Ninevites repented from their sins; so God spared them from destroying their city, which made him angry.
He set up a camp outside the city’s wall. Strangely, God graciously caused a leafy plant to grow over his shelter; gave him shade for his head to ease his discomfort. He was very happy about the plant less he might fainted from the scorching heat of the sun.
The next day, however, God provided a worm to chew through the plant; so that it withered and died. When the sun rose, he was left to expose in the scorching heat; the sun blazed his head and he grew faint. This made Jonah very angry again and he wanted to die.
He rants against God, the Bible has recorded, for destroying the leafy plant, which was his shield from the scorching sun. The Lord, however, told him that it was only in His grace he provided a shield for him. He has no right and reason to rant against the Lord; he was shielded by God compassionately.
Although God did this purposefully to teach him about His care for the inhabitants of the city, we can learn a lesson from here: It was in His grace and compassion we are provided our timely shield and shelter.
Our Refuge and Shield:
Our God is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and abounding in love, and relents from sending calamity. (v.2b) In Him, we are shielded, given shelter and comfort, protected and lovingly cared.
The Lord sees our needs; and the Lord provides for all. Even in our most unlikely situations of life, He shielded us. We have no adequate ability to protect ourselves – physically and spiritually. We are bound to perform very badly without the grace of God.
The problem could be that sometimes we rants against God not realizing our life’s shielded only by the abiding grace of God. He is the provider and He is free to take it back if it is for our own good. Our God rarely take it back nor terrorized his people without a reason.
Our God is compassionate; He knows our need. He shielded us lovingly in His care so that we may not perish on the way. He neatly shielded us, which keeps us safe from the work of the devil. Our Savior doesn’t want the devil to toy with our life.
We should be happy, and let me make it personal, I must be happy. He is the Lord God who is shielding me compassionately through thick and thin; the One who keeps me safe, lovingly and graciously.
Blessed is he who took shield in the full armor of God.
The word of God is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Blessed is he who takes refuge and shielded in the fortress of the Lord.
For them, the Lord is their salvation and their stronghold.
He is our stronghold in times of trouble
He shields all who take refuge in him;
They lack nothing!
Let’s take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Let’s remain grateful for the grace of God and His compassion, through which we are shield.
