Monsters: Part 2, by Will

Monsters aren't real in the way that my girls imagine them to be, but there is a real enemy. This is the reality of the world we live in, but there is also a very real God. He is strong, powerful, and well armed, and He covers those who trust in Him with his mighty shield. The enemy can be scary, and his goal is for us to be paralyzed by fear, but that is not how God intended for us to live. The protection of His shield gives us freedom to live without fear, because He has overcome the enemy. The protection of God does not make the enemy less real, but it makes the enemy powerless over us.

The Psalms speak of the protection of God's shield:

Psalm 3.3, "But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head."

Psalm 7.10, "My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart."

Psalm 18.2, "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Psalm 18.30, "As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him."

Psalm 28.7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him."

Psalm 33.20, "Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield."

Psalm 91.4, "He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark."

Psalm 115.9, "O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their shield."

Psalm 119.114, "You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word."

Psalm 144.2, "My lovingkindness and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and He in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me."

Just as we live with the reality of a real enemy, we live in the presence of an even more real God. He holds his shield between us an the enemy, and we are safe, protected by His strength.

A fictional monster is no match for my symbolic shield, and the next day when I asked my girls why they didn't have to be afraid of monsters they said, "Because you have a sword and a shield." My two-year-old is really funny when she describes and mimics what I would do to a monster if it tried to get her. The message was reinforced when they opted to watch "Sleeping Beauty" (thankfully, they haven't exhausted this one yet) and Prince Phillip kills Maleficent with his sword and shield. They are beginning to understand that they have a strong and powerful daddy who will not let anything happen to them, even if a monster comes.

God is loving father, and He is strong and powerful. We do not need to be paralyzed by fear, because we are covered by His shield.

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!