Staying Close To God!

Protecting our children is an awesome task. It seems like no matter how hard we try, they still get hurt. When we were children, I'm sure that our parents tried their best to keep us from harm, but we managed to hurt ourselves just the same. When we would go somewhere, my mother would tell us kids to stay close and not wonder off. We didn't always listen, and we had to pay the price for our disobedience. Sometimes it was just a scolding, other times it was serious discipline.

Our Heavenly Father wants to protect us from harm also. He knows that if we are obedient to His commands, we will be less likely to sin. If we are rebellious, we will most likely find ourselves in harms way. It may not come in the way of physical pain, but it could very well be spiritual pain. Maybe your testimony will be damaged. Maybe someone else will stumble because of something you do or say. We all stumble and fall, but if we are close to God, He is there to pick us up and brush us off. If we think that we can take care of ourselves, we are just fooling ourselves and we will be setting ourselves up for failure.

James; 4:8
(Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.)
If you have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, you can come to God for everything.
Romans; 8:1-2
(There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the of sin and death.)
Because you are in Christ Jesus, you can come to God for help in the time of need.
Hebrews; 4:16
(Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.)
It was at the throne of God that Christ made atonement for sins, and it is there that grace is dispensed to believers for all issues of life.
2Corinthians; 9:8
(And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work.)

We are told that we are to submit ourselves to God. But how do we do this? When you submit to God, it is a willing decision to put yourself under God's authority as sovereign ruler of the universe. God can protect you from evil and He will, but we must be obedient children. When Jesus was praying for all believers, He ask the Father to keep us safe from the evil one.
John; 17:15
(I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.)
This protection is from Satan and all the wicked forces who follow him. Like a child, if you keep putting yourself into harms way, you will eventually get hurt. You can tell a child that something is hot, but if the child goes ahead and touches it, they will get burnt. When we submit to God, we are then resisting Satan.
James; 4:7
(Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.)
Resist here, literally means "take your stand against". All people are either under the lordship of Christ, or under Satan's control. There is no middle ground. Satan is already a defeated foe.
1John; 3:7-8
(Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.)

No matter how strong a Christian we are, if we try to go it on our own, we will get hurt. Stay close to God and lean on His power to carry you through all of life's trials. He is your heavenly Father and He wants you to abide in Him and His Son Jesus Christ.

God Bless You!