Our Unseen Protection

I grew up on the Western side of Rockingham Co. in Virginia.  My area bordered with West Virginia.  So being in the mountains was a very normal part of life.  I absolutely love being in the mountains and riding the back roads.  Now that I live on the opposite side of the county, with life being busier than ever, I don’t take the time to go back home as often as I should.  But due to a lot of things in life kicking my teeth in lately, I really needed to get away.  Therefore, I did what came natural – I went home in search of peace.  But I ended up getting more than I had hoped for.

My primary goal of this trip was to get to the top of the mountain better known as Reddish Knob.  Don’t ask me where the name came from – I don’t have a clue.  From the vantage point this awesome place provides, you can see nearly the entire Shenandoah Valley on the VA side as well as all of the mountain ranges on the WV side.  It’s quite a sight, to say the least.  In fact, the State line splits the top of  Reddish Knob right down the middle.

This particular morning I got up there just before 9 in the morning.  I backed my SUV right up to the corner of the lookout lot, popped open the hatch and just sat in the back staring out over the Valley.  It was a clear morning to start, so I could see for miles.  It was windy, which is common for that altitude.  On this occasion, I happened to notice something I don’t think I had ever seen before.  I got out of my vehicle and walked toward the WV side.  While it was crystal clear to the east, the west was a solid wall of white; fog had taken over and made it impossible to see the awesome views.  This caught my attention so I began looking to the north and then to the south.  The fog seemed to remain right on the top edge of the mountain range seeming to split right down the state line.  While the heavy fog made every effort possible to cross over the top onto the other side, the wind would blow it right back over.  No matter how hard it tried, it’s attempts were futile at best.

This, naturally, got me thinking.

As you know, you can’t see the wind – you can only feel it and witness it’s effects on that which it blows upon.  The trees sway to it’s rhythm, leaves are carried away by it and it provides a welcomed cooling on those hot summer days.  But it’s impossible to see with the eye.

What I saw in this event that was unfolding before me was a military-type of scenario. The fog was fighting as hard as it could to cross enemy lines.  Yet something that it could not see, nor overcome, was keeping it at bay making it impossible for it to advance.  There was a point that the fog could reach, but then the wind would seem to say, “That’s as far as you go.”  It was quite an amazing sight, to say the least.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

God is very clear in His word that we will have troubles and we will be tested.  But there will never be more than we can handle.  If we could see what was going on around us, we would witness the most epic battle on the grandest of scales.  And the best news about this is that we know Who is fighting for us.  The enemy can only go so far, do so much and inflict only so much damage – he is limited in his impact.

But God is never limited in His protection.  Even when we go through the hardest of times and it seems like a never-ending battle is going on all around us…He’s still there.  We may not see Him, or even feel His presence.  But His invisible force is always pursuing us and keeping the powers of the enemy from overtaking us.  It’s comforting to know that things can only get so bad until He decides to step in and show off a little bit.

So just keep in mind – when things seem to be too overwhelming, you have an army from the Living God on your side fighting to keep you safe.  It doesn’t mean tough things won’t happen, but it does mean those tough things only have so much power over you.  You have authority given to you by Jesus.  And you have the God of the universe on your side.  That is definitely enough to see us through any battle.

Oh, and don’t go it alone if it gets too bad.  Being isolated makes you a prime target for the enemy.  I’ve learned the hard way by thinking I could handle it on my own no matter how bad it got.  I got my butt kicked quite a few times.  But God has humbled me and brought some great, very trusting people into my life, my wife included, to go into battle with me. God will always do His part.  But we need to do our part while allowing our friends to do theirs as well.  We can’t do it alone.  Trust me, I know firsthand.

(This post is one I started a couple of months ago and decided to finish tonight.  I hope you enjoy!  It’s short, but to the point.)