God's Protection

 

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. - Matthew 10:16 NLT

When I first read this verse, I said to myself, "That doesn't sound like God to send sheep out into the midst of the wolves. God wouldn't do that. God wouldn't send them into danger." God keeps us from harm and he protects. He didn't send the twelve disciples out to tell how great, mighty, awesome, loving, truthful, trustworthy and real God is without protection. It is brave to go into danger knowing that that comes with the territory and not everyone wants to hear about God. Nevertheless, He sent them out to be bold and confident; not cunning and deceiving like a snake. He sent them out to be bold enough to share the gospel and when doing so they were to stay as gentle as a dove. See, we have to be hard and serious and to the point when we go out to share the gospel. We have to have meaning and purpose when we speak and tell of the goodness of Jesus. Snakes are usually frightening and are avoided by many. However, God wants us to be bold and know how to stand our ground and be confident in knowing who He is and be able to share and tell of all His Greatness. But, at the same time, we are to be gentle, harmless, smooth, soft, and understanding. We must be patient and allow the people to fully hear about how good God is. We must also be shrewd enough to avoid conflict and danger without losing our dove-like gentleness. Doing this will allow us to continue to proclaim the truth without fear. A shrewd person is able to understand and judge the situation quickly and use this understanding and discernment to their advantage. Let us get serious about spreading the gospel and telling people how good, how great, how awesome, magnificent, marvelous and wonderful God is to us.

Today's Devotional written by Sister Takiela Harris. 

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