God Is Your Protector

Do you really believe that God is your hiding place? Do you really believe that God is with you, really cares about you, and is ready to protect you from any adversity that would really damage you?

There is adversity that God wants us to go through. There are types and instances of adversity that God wants us to go through because He knows it will build us up, closer to what He wants us to be. But there are also types and instances of adversity that will truly damage us. Some adversity will draw us away from God, and away from becoming who and what He wants us to be. The path between where we are and where God wants us to be, who God wants us to become, is not always the same as the most comfortable path. And so, just because something is painful or uncomfortable, or makes us feel bad in some way or another, does not mean that it is an adversity that God is failing to protect us from. It is easy for us, and a society that highly values comfort, to assume that God's protection, if it is genuine and effective, would prevent us from experiencing anything painful, uncomfortable, or unwanted. "Progress" is virtually always equated in our society with comfort, increased comfort. If we don't have increased comfort or perceived control over a situation, we believe that it is inherently bad, broken, and to be avoided. And so, if we look for some evidence or understanding that God is our hiding Place, our protector, if our standard for the evidence of His activity in this manner is simply comfort or perceived control, then we will be repeatedly disappointed, and are likely to come to the conclusion that God is not our protector.

Ultimately, God's goal for us is not our comfort in where we are, who we are, etc. Instead, God's goal for us is reconciliation, with Him, with who He made us to be, with other people, and with all of creation.