Psalm 91:4-10
His huge outstretched arms protect you– under them you’re perfectly safe; His arms will fend off all harm.
Fear nothing… No harm will even graze you. You’ll stand untouched…
Yes, because God is your refuge, the High God your very own home,
Evil can’t get close to you; harm can’t get through the door.
I don’t know about you, but I have had some friendships and relationships in my life that have ended. I have had some things I was passionate about taken away. I have experienced loss. And each time, it hurt.
One day I was madly “in love” with a guy, and the next day I was bawling my eyes out because he dumped me. Or one day “Suzy” was my very best friend, and the next day she was ignoring me. One day I was obsessed with cheerleading, and the next day, I was injured and lost the nerve to try any more stunts or tumbling. And with each loss, I experienced heartache and pain.
I can honestly say, though, with every break up, with every weekend I spent at home, with the activities I gave up, I found the purpose. Not the day after. In some cases, it took months. Other cases, it took years. Each time I found that the Lord was protecting me. From what, you may be asking? Most of the time, I find that the Lord is protecting us from ourselves. Here’s what I mean by that… We often turn boyfriends, friends, sports, grades, etc. into idols. We place them as first in our hearts. We seek THEIR approval. Sometimes we make EVERY decision with them in mind…. from how we wear our hair that morning to where we want to go to college.
We are setting ourselves up for heartbreak by allowing a person or an activity to dictate our lives. Sometimes boys change their minds. Sometimes friends have bad days and take them out on you. Sometimes you fail a test. Sometimes you lose a soccer game. But God doesn’t change His mind about you. God doesn’t have bad days. God is faithful. He is constant. He is the same… yesterday, today, and forever.
I think it’s safe to say that He knows what is best for us. After all, He created our hearts. And even when something precious to us is taken away, we HAVE to trust that He is making all things work together for our good. So let’s put Him first. Let pleasing Him be the reason behind all of our decisions.
Let’s pray~
Lord, thank You for loving us enough to protect us. You know that You are the only one who is constant, and You love us enough to protect our hearts. Continue to teach us to guard our hearts. Lord, when we place things above You, give us strength and conviction to lay those things down. And after we lay those things down, God, we will run into Your arms, we will return to our First Love.
~Jordan
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For the A Daughter’s Worth Bible Study, you will need the book, your Bible, pen or pencil, a highlighter and a quiet place. You can order the book right through our website from clicking the sign-up form button at the top of our webpage.
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About Megan Smidt
Thank you Jordan for those wise words. You hit on the things that seem to devastate us the most, but God shows us how He was protecting us. He is faithful to show us Himself in our lives if we will only look. You are a blessing.
yes, He is SO faithful!! thank you 🙂
~Jordan
there is an unseen spiritual battle raging around us all day every day. Thank GOD for His mighty protection!!! Great message, Jordan <3
SO thankful that He is a shield to those who love Him 🙂
~Jordan
I read these posts daily & have taken something from each one. But this one today really hit home. I will be taking notes. Thanks for sharing. I really needed to read this.
SO blessed by your encouragement! Jesus is so good 🙂
~Jordan
There is so much about this study that doesn't just apply to Teens! We adults are learning a few things, as well! Thank You Teen Bloggers!!!! <3
Love how the Lord does that!!! 🙂
~Jordan
oh.so.true: "we are setting ourselves up for heartbreak by allowing a person or an activity to dictate our lives…" thank you, jordan. if we allow anything (person, place, thing) to take the place that rightfully belongs to only One—God—we are bordering on idolatry. God protects us by directing us to keep Him first. He told His chosen ones, the israelites that, "For you shall worship no other god; for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God…" (Exodus 34:14). how thankful we are for the many, many ways that God watches out for us!!! <3
Great point, Coleen! It's so important to take time to stop, take a step back and see our priorities the way God wants us to have them <3
I wrote this post from experience! So thankful for the Lord's protection, even when I don't understand His ways.
~Jordan
Absolutely love this…gotta constantly remind myself that i need to do things for God and not for what the guy i like might think or want.
Amen, Ashley!!! And our prayer is that if its the right guy… He'll want the same 🙂
Ashley– you are not alone in that! Jesus will give you the wisdom and the strength to hear HIS voice and to follow it! bless you!!
~Jordan