Words of Grace

By Rev. Mahlon Nevel

When the Lord called Abraham in Genesis 12, he told him to get out of his home country, He was to leave his kindred and his father’s house, and go to a land that God would show him.

That land was the Promised Land. God promised it to Abraham and to the nation of Israel. When God made this promise to Abraham, it is said that he believed God.

God also promised to protect Abraham as he made the long journey. “Fear not,” he said “I am your shield” (Genesis 15:1)

What a promise! He would not only shield him from danger; he would be his shield.

David knew the value of a shield. In the wars he fought in, shields were his protection. He declared in Psalm 28:7,

The Lord is my strength and my shield.”

The apostle Paul instructs us to put on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11) One of those pieces of armor is faith. It is called “the shield of faith.” (V. 16) When we believe God, he becomes our shield.

Helen Eisenhart tells of how she was awakened one night while her husband was overseas. She felt an urgent need to pray, and she was on her knees all night.

When her husband returned a year later from the war. She found out that on that very night as she prayed, he was protected. Being surrounded by German soldiers, the Lord was his shield.