Weekly Bulletin – March 12, 2023

“Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.” Genesis 31:24

The vulnerability of men to the attacks of others has been amply demonstrated in history. Monarchs, emperors, and presidents have all fallen at the hands of assassins, despite the most careful and thorough attempts to protect them. The protective shield thrown around leading figures such as Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, and even the Pope have been penetrated by determined gunmen. No one can give us absolute security. No one but the Lord.

When Laban sought Jacob’s hurt, the Lord intervened with a stern warning. Laban could do him no harm. Jesus said of His people, “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). We lodge in an impregnable fortress, which may not be infiltrated by any malign force intent upon our ill.

God knows the end from the beginning, as is witnessed by His telling Peter how he was going to die (John 21:18-19). Such circumstances as those recorded in Hebrews 11:35-38 have arisen in the lives of God’s people, but not because God could not protect them or was unaware of the danger they were in. No, such things happened because God willed them for His own glory. Even the fury of men as they destroy the saints of God is made to serve the cause of God’s honour and glory. Had the Pauls and the Peters, the Cranmers and Latimers all died peacefully in bed, the world would be the poorer by so many records of the mighty grace of God in the lives of men and women.

How often, unknown to us, God has whispered in the ear of one planning evil against us as He whispered in Laban’s ear. God’s whisper is enough to deter the most stout-hearted. Remember to thank God for the unseen deliverances as well as those you are aware of. What a tale eternity will tell. May our praises of today match the disclosures of that day.

Quote: “There is a twofold hedge that God makes about His people. There is the hedge of protection, to keep evil from them; and the hedge of affliction to keep them from evil.” – John Bunyan

Daily Devotions are from the book “Footprints of Faith” Copyright Let the Bible Speak 1989.