For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. - Romans 1:16
Some years ago, I went to Israel with my pastors and we were introduced to a Jewish believer who became our guide. This man, who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defence Forces during the fourth Arab-Israeli war in 1973. He told us how Israel had been taken by surprise when Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Israel's enemies were able to sweep in and take over large swathes of territory because many of their soldiers were away from their posts, observing the Day of Atonement. Once they became aware of the attack, our guide was activated to enter enemy ground together with his platoon.
In that platoon, there were five soldiers who had made fun of him and who had persecuted him for his beliefs before the war. They’d told him that he had betrayed his own people and was no longer fit to be called a Jew because he had accepted Jesus Christ as Messiah. In response, he had told them that if his God were not real, they would see him die. But if Jesus were Lord, he told them, “with your eyes you will see wondrous things” happening to him right before them.
Our guide described how, during the Yom Kippur war, they had entered a forested area when, without warning, they were ambushed with general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) shots being fired all around. The platoon commander in front of him was the first to get hit - he was shot in the head and dropped straight to the ground. As the second-in-command, our guide took over immediately. As he fired a volley of shots, he shouted for some of his men to shoot toward his left and called for another group of them to aim behind some rocks in another direction. But he heard no response at all from his men. When he turned to look for them, he realised that no one was there.
All his men had dived into a trench and he was the only one standing in the open. He walked over and peered into the trench. One of the men motioned for him to jump into the hole with them, screaming, “come on, you'll die!” Our guide did not heed their cries. Instead, he yelled, “Get out here and fight!”
As he stood there, he suddenly became aware of GPMG bullets flying all around him - so many whizzing past him that they sounded like bees buzzing around his head. His platoon mates, trembling in fear, including the five who had constantly teased him, stared up at him in awe. Then, he realised what was happening to him - in the midst of heavy gunfire, the Lord was protecting him. He was standing exposed in the open with gunfire pounding the surrounding trees, leaves falling all around him. But not a single bullet touched him. He looked down and shouted at them, “With your eyes you see! Now, do you believe?”
Not a single bullet touched him. Isn't that amazing?
Our guide told us that he had grown up in a small church. On the pulpit at the front of the sanctuary was a plaque that he always looked at as a child when he got bored with the sermon he was hearing. He kept on reading those words until they entered his spirit and he believed them. Those words were: “a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”
He grew up believing that regardless of who fell around him, it would never happen to him. In fact, as the bullets tore past him, he shared with us that he did not fear even for a moment that any of the bullets would hit him.
I pray that the Scripture our guide meditated on will guard your heart, keep you Christ-occupied, and in faith. Whatever the danger is, it shall not come near you! Be strengthened by His promise to you and start walking in the power and authority of God’s Word today.
Today's Prayer
Father God, thank You that no matter what anyone says or what I see and hear, Your Word is true and I will stand upon it. Thank You that Your wondrous power is demonstrated as I believe and speak Your Word. I declare that whatever the danger is, whether it is disease, disasters, or terrorist attacks it shall not come near me and my loved ones. Amen.
Today's Thought
I will declare and fill my heart with the promises of Psalm 91, and walk in the power and authority of God’s Word.
Please remember to share this daily devotion with your friends, and if anyone wants to receive ‘Grace for Today’ directly then please just sign up via our website at www.exchangechurchbelfast.com
Prince, Joseph. The Prayer of Protection Devotional: Daily Strategies for Living Fearlessly In Dangerous Times.