Before understanding God’s thinking on the subject of our personal protection, it is important to consider three important biblical points (1 Corinthians 2:16):
1 – Jesus Christ showed that the present life which ends in death has a provisional value for all humans. For example he compared the death of Lazarus to « sleep », which by definition is temporary (John 11:11). Further, Jesus Christ showed that what matters is to preserve our prospect of everlasting life rather than seeking to « survive » a trial at the cost of serious compromise: « Whoever finds his soul will lose it, and whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it » (Matthew 10:39). The word « soul », depending on the context, is to be taken in the meaning of life (Genesis 35:16-19). The apostle Paul, under inspiration, showed that « real life » is that centered on the hope of eternal life in paradise: « safely treasuring up for themselves a fine foundation for the future, so that they may get a firm hold on the real life » (1 Timothy 6:19).
When we read the book of Acts, we find that sometimes God allowed the test of the Christian to end until his death, in the case of the apostle James and the disciple Stephen (Acts 7: 54-60; 12: 2). In other cases, God decided to protect the disciple. For example, after the death of the apostle James, God decided to protect the apostle Peter from an identical death (Acts 12:6-11). Generally, in the biblical context, the protection or otherwise of a servant of God is often linked to his purpose. For example, while it was in the midst of a shipwreck, there was a collective divine protection from the apostle Paul and as well as all the people on the boat: « This night an angel of the God to whom I belong and to whom I render sacred service stood by me and said: ‘Have no fear, Paul. You must stand before Caesar, and look! God has granted to you all those sailing with you’ » (Acts 27:23,24). The collective divine protection was part of a higher divine purpose, namely that Paul was to bear witness to kings (Acts 9:15,16).
2 – This question of divine protection must be placed in the context of the two challenges launched by Satan and particularly in the remarks he made regarding the integrity of Job: « Have you not put up a protective hedge around him and his house and everything he has? » (Job 1:10). To answer the question of integrity of Job and all of mankind, this challenge from the devil shows that God had to, in a relative way, remove his protection from Job, which could well apply as well all of humanity. Shortly before he died, Jesus Christ, citing Psalm 22:1, showed that God had taken away all protection from him, which resulted in his death as a sacrifice (John 3:16): « About the ninth hour, Jesus called out with a loud voice, saying: “Eʹli, Eʹli, laʹma sa·bach·thaʹni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Matthew 27:46). Nevertheless, concerning humanity as a whole, this withdrawal of divine protection remains relative, for just as God forbade the devil to directly kill Job, it is evident that the same is true of all of humanity as worldwide group (compare with Matthew 24:22).
3 – We have examined above, that suffering can be the result of « unforeseen times and events » which make that people can find themselves at the wrong time, in the wrong place (Ecclesiastes 9:11,12). Thus, in general, humans are not protected by God from the consequences of the choice that was originally made by Adam. Man ages, gets sick and dies (Romans 5:12). He can be the victim of accidents or natural disasters. The apostle Paul, inspired, wrote it well: « For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but through the one who subjected it, on the basis of hope » (Romans 8:20; the book of Ecclesiastes is a detailed description of the futility of the present life which inevitably leads to death: « »The greatest futility!” says the congregator, “The greatest futility! Everything is futile » » (Ecclesiastes 1:2)).
In addition, God does not protect humans from the consequences of their bad decisions: « Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a person is sowing, this he will also reap; because the one sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but the one sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit » (Galatians 6:7,8). As God has subjected mankind to futility for a long time, it allows us to understand that He has withdrawn His protection from the consequences of our sinful condition. Certainly, this perilous situation for all mankind will be temporary: « The creation itself will also be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God » (Romans 8:21). It is then that the whole of humanity, after the resolution of the devil’s challenge, will find the benevolent protection of God in the earthly paradise: « No disaster will befall you, And no plague will come near your tent. For he will give his angels a command concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will carry you on their hands, So that you may not strike your foot against a stone » (Psalms 91:10-12).
Does this mean that currently we are no longer individually protected by God? The protection that God gives us is that of our future, in terms of the hope of everlasting life, either by the survival of the great tribulation or by the resurrection, if we endure to the end (Matthew 24:13 ; John 5: 28,29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 7:9-17). In addition, Jesus Christ in his description of the sign of the last days (Matthew 24, 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21), and the book of Revelation (particularly in chapters 6:1-8 and 12:12), show that humanity would go through great misfortunes since 1914, which suggests that for a time God would not preserve it.
However, God has not left us without the possibility of protecting ourselves individually through the application of his benevolent guidance contained in the Bible, his Word. Broadly speaking, the application of biblical principles makes it possible to avoid unnecessary risks which could shorten our life in an absurd way: « My son, do not forget my teaching, And may your heart observe my commandments, Because they will add many days And years of life and peace to you » (Proverbs 3: 1,2). We saw above that fate does not exist. Therefore, the application of biblical principles, the guidance of God, will be comparable to looking carefully to the right and to the left before crossing the street, in order to preserve our life: « The shrewd person sees the danger and conceals himself, But the inexperienced keep right on going and suffer the consequences » (Proverbs 27:12).
The apostle Peter insisted on being vigilant in view of prayer: « But the end of all things has drawn close. Therefore, be sound in mind, and be vigilant with a view to prayers » (1 Peter 4:7). Prayer and meditation can have a protective effect on our spiritual and mental balance: « Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7; Genesis 24:63).
Some believe that they have been specially protected by God at a moment in their lives. Nothing in the Bible prevents to glimpse this exceptional possibility on the part of God, quite the contrary: « I will declare before you the name of Jehovah; and I will favor the one whom I favor, and I will show mercy to the one to whom I show mercy » (Exodus 33:19). This experience remains in the order of the exclusive relationship between God and this person who would have been protected, it is not for us to judge: « Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Jehovah can make him stand » (Romans 14:4).
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Why God Allowed Suffering and Wickedness ?
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