Cross thoughts: Christian ideas seen in Sudanese every day life.
Our Best defence is God Himself! Always.
From a restaurant by the Nile I took this photo of the defences built about 130 years ago to protect Omdurman and restrict access to Khartoum. These earthworks are part of the tourist route in the area. The traveller can see well-preserved ruins, a fitting monument to the people who built them and the many who fought over them. The nearby Mahdi museum also has artefacts from battles of the history of this area.
The writer of Psalm 121 was an experienced fighter. He knew the ups and the downs of army life. He had also grown to realise that it is God Himself who is the best defensive asset any person can have as his or her own.
Weaponry, shields, trenches, armour-plating all have their place, but none are comparable to the defensive power of our Almighty Christian God.
1. God helps and cares for His own, verse 2, even when unseen.
2. God defends His own. His resources are everything, verse 2.
3. God protects His own, verses 3,4. No terminal damage need come
from our own stumbles, slips or falls.
4. God focuses His sight on His own, verses 3,4,5,7,8. His watch is
closer to us than the watches by which we tell our time!
5. God preserves His own in the routines of daily life, verses 5,6.
6. God keeps His own from all harm, verse 7. Things that happen to us
therefore need not be harmful! Ask 'What is Father God doing?'
7. God guards His own, verse 8, and He will do so for always!
He leads us safely on into forever’s eternity!
Always remember, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”.
June 2009.