[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″]When my oldest son Jason, was in kindergarten, he was the only child at his bus stop. Of course my wife and I never sent him to his bus stop alone, but many times I was the one who walked with him to catch the school bus. It was a great opportunity for some father and son time. Sometimes we took a ball along with us and played catch until the bus arrived. If there was any water running in the gutters after a recent rain, we would sit on the curb and race small sticks or leaves, watching them float away down the street.[/x_custom_headline]
One day while waiting for the bus I noticed a large dog coming in our direction a few blocks away. As it got closer, I recognized it to be a pit bull. As it got even closer, I could see that this dog had a thick chain attached to his collar. And I mean a really thick chain. And the dog had broken the chain to accommodate his release from captivity and he was now dragging a good ten feet of it behind him.
Even my lightning fast mind could figure out that a chain that thick wasn’t attached to a friendly, harmless dog named FeFe. I knew that this wasn’t Bubbles the fun-loving, child-friendly dog that performed circus tricks. This had to be Brutus. Brutus the man-eater. And Brutus was coming right for us!
I’m sure you understand what I mean. The size and thickness of a chain that a dog is restrained with speaks volumes about the personality and the threat a dog may pose. This was a very thick chain that this dog had broken to get himself free, and that in and of itself spoke volumes to me about this particular dog. Big, thick volumes.
[highlight]Besides that, I had witnessed a pit bull attack once before, and it had a very nasty outcome.[/highlight] When the dog attacked, the owner, wearing cowboy boots, kicked and stomped the dog in an attempt to get him to release his victim, but the dog would not let go. The owner then grabbed a 2” X 4” and began to bludgeon the dog in the head with it, until finally the dog let go. I’ll admit that the image of this event passed through my mind while I was watching the pit bull approach Jason and me.
I knew that we needed a place of safety, but there was no place to go and no time to get there. I had no idea what to expect from this dog. But the one thing that I did know for sure was that he wasn’t going to touch my five-year-old son. I was determined that no matter what happened, no matter how ugly this situation may become, this big, stupid dog wasn’t going to get near my boy.
Just as the dog approached, I did something that any good father would have done. It wasn’t something I had read about in a parenting book, or something I had taken a class to learn to do in situations like this one. It was something very simple, really. I just grabbed Jason and put him behind me. I put myself between the dog and my son.
I still did not know if the dog was vicious or not, but I did know that if he was, he would have to get through me to get to my little boy.
[highlight]That was my part in the deal. I had no problem doing my part. But Jason had a part to play in this whole episode as well. And his part was to stay behind me no matter what.[/highlight]
Jason was no match for the pit bull. But if he didn’t follow my instructions and stay behind me, the dog may have just as easily chosen to have a faceoff with Jason, instead of with me.
When I think of the situation with that dog that my son and I experienced, I am reminded again that this is exactly what the Lord will do for you and me if we would simply allow Him to be our shield of protection. He will get between us and trouble. He will get between us and the intimidation that we are facing in our lives. And He will get between us and all the works of darkness that are arrayed against us.
But we must do our part to remain in our position behind the Lord as our shield. And we can only do that by being doers of the Word, and not hearers only.
Here is what He promised in His Word:
[x_blockquote cite=”Psalm 115:11 KJV” type=”left”]“Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.”[/x_blockquote]
When the wicked one begins moving in your direction, you had better stay behind the Father God and not have a faceoff with the devil yourself. God promised to be our shield. He promised to be between us and trouble. But if you won’t do what is necessary to stay behind the Shield, you will end up facing the dangers of life out in the open.
Perhaps this helps you to understand why so many believers who should be living as more than conquerors, are always being conquered.
You see we never have to try to convince the Father to be a father who will step between you and storms and threats and peril. He is good at doing His part. He always does His part. He is a good and loving Heavenly Father.
Yet you must learn what your part is in all of this, and what is necessary, according to the scriptures, to live in safety behind the Lord and His protection.
If you are feeling haunted and hunted by the enemy, then it’s time to reposition yourself behind Almighty God as your shield and protector. Get in your Bible and begin doing what the Word of God tells you to do. In the process, instead of being haunted and hunted by the wicked one, you can run him out of your life with the sword of the Spirit.
[x_alert type=”info”]Much of this article was an excerpt from Kenny Gatlin’s book, Protective Custody: Living in Safety in the Last Days. Copyright © 2007 Kenny Gatlin. Used by Permission. All rights reserved.[/x_alert]
