… may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. — Psalm 20:1
In this verse, the Lord identifies Himself as the God of Jacob.
We all want protection, so we look to the same God who protected Jacob. How did God protect Jacob? He certainly did not protect him from the need to flee from his brother Esau. He didn’t prevent him from being wed to the wrong woman. He didn’t keep Laban from cheating him by changing his wages ten times. He didn’t keep Jacob’s wife, Rachel, from dying in childbirth. He didn’t keep his son Joseph from being sold into slavery, his other sons from lying about it, and his son Simeon from being thrown into prison.
What kind of protector is this God of Jacob?
To begin with, He is a confident protector — confident enough to wrench Jacob’s hip out of its socket when Esau was coming after him with 400 men. He didn’t leave Jacob any power to flee or to fight, because God didn’t need Jacob’s help. He is a just protector. When God saw how Jacob was being cheated by Laban, He simply changed the laws of genetics so that Laban couldn’t get away with his injustice. He is a big picture protector. Jacob didn’t see any reason for being wed to Leah, or any reason for the loss of Joseph. But God had reasons, and those reasons came back to protect and provide for Jacob in the end.
God has a plan for your protection — and for mine. It is a plan that is more carefully thought out than our prayer, "Just prevent anything unpleasant from ever happening to me forever and always, amen."
In Hebrews 11:21 we are told that Jacob, at the end of his life, blessed his sons by faith. This is a different Jacob than the man who disguised himself as Esau in order to steal his brother’s blessing. He could look into the future and see what ordinary people could not see. This was a man who had been protected by God.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
To find out more about Dwight Clough, his books, his ministry, or to receive this devotional via email visit DwightClough.com. Dwight and his wife Kim are active members of Lake City Church in Madison.