We may profess to be believers in Christ, but even for the faithful, we can slip into assigning other things the power to protect us that really belongs to God and God alone.
Have you ever wrongly looked to an object, idea or person to keep you safe while underestimating God's power to do the same? You might have done so without realising.
Here are just some of the things we can wrongly trust.
Money
While a cash reserve and a regular income does provide us with some security, the extent to which money can protect us is limited. And in some cases it can cause us to require more protection than it offers. A lot of people believe that a big bank balance will solve all of their problems. They say things like: "If I won the lottery, I'd be able to..." or "If I had more money, I wouldn't have to worry about..." But we don't need extra money for this to be a reality. If we have put our faith completely in God, we should know that in spite of our immediate financial shortfalls, we can do all things through Him and that includes turning away from worry.
Other people
We often look to people we love or figures in official authoritative roles to keep us from danger and a lot of the times doing so is within their remit. Police are there to protect us from crime, fire brigades to keep us from harm, politicians to shield us against attacks on our civil liberties. Although each body is assigned to shelter us from a particular type of danger, they're limited in what they can do and they are often only at hand when we call them. In contrast, the shelter that God provides doesn't waver. While we can all on Him to safeguard us from harm and evil, He does so so often without us requesting Him to.
Are you about to embark on a journey where your safety will be in question? Or are you in need reassurance that God will guard you more generally? You can recite Psalm 91 or use it as inspiration for your own unique prayer.
Reputation
People go to great lengths to protect their reputations because they in turn have the power to protect them. However, a lot of the time reputations are often simply devised of what we project about ourselves onto others, what we allow them to see, and as such they're not always a representation of who or what we truly are.
If we're obeying Christ's command we shouldn't concern ourselves too much with what others thinks of us because God always sees what they don't. Our primary concern should be honouring Him, not impressing others. What God knows about us is far more important than what anyone thinks of us. While the reputation that we cultivate among our peers may protect us for some time, it's the reputation that reveals the true nature of our heart that will protect us forever.
