By Ansley Zecckine
Published on November 7, 2007
Drivers in Florida so often have to experience commuting in the rain, but how many of us would dare to do so without any windshield wipers? How much more absurd would it be to make such a commute without a windshield?
Consider for a moment yourself having to deal with these resulting hardships: poor gas mileage (yikes!), a “bad hair day,” chills from the wind and rain, high speed water droplets hammering the face and eyes, drenched clothing, and saturated vehicle upholstery and mold growth.
Quite clearly we can see that the complexities of driving in the rain would become so increased that no one would begin to do so unless it was a matter of life and death (but then to take on such a task would be a matter of life and death, regardless of the situation).
I doubt that we usually consider the rain, or anything so simple, as being able to cause so many problems, but how many people take on the task of living out their lives without a shield to protect them from the “wind” and “rain” of life, and the evil that is present within the world around us?
2 Timothy 4:18 assures me that “the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom.” Psalm 18:25 adds, “Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.”
So, why do we need to be delivered? We’ve each been given a conscience, which has given us the knowledge of certain moral absolutes. At one point or another, we’ve each failed to do what we knew was right. God also gave us the Ten Commandments as a standard to live by, and each of us has failed at least one of them too; even the smallest white-lie is still under the classification of sin.
Fortunately, God didn’t choose to use the Ten Commandments as a means to strike us down at any moment we disobey; he has used them to cause us to realize how much help we really need, and he wants to be our shield from all forms of such evil.
How can God do this? By definition, God knows all things; he knows every wrong that has been committed from the beginning of this world all the way up to the end of it, and he decided to place the required judgment for those wrongs upon the Christ, instead of each of us. As a result, we can each obtain this “shield of salvation” from God himself.
Why do we need to be preserved? Think back to the example of the windshield wipers; their function is to knock the rain off the windshield so you can focus on where you need to go, without any hindrance.
Once upon a time, I was involved in a relationship with a girl, in which I did some things a Christian should never do, and I was so blinded by what was going on that I really wasn’t grasping the situation. God knew all about it, and he knew that if I continued in such a direction, and married this girl, that I would ruin the rest of my life. This girl broke up with me in the end, and I was pretty upset for a time; however, the truth is that God had a better plan, and he was faithful enough to deliver and preserve me through it all, and he continues to be the windshield and wipers of my life.