His Truth - My Shield and Buckler

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty, I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress my God in Him will I trust....He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:  His truth shall be thy shield and buckler."  Psalm 91:1-2,4

As I spent time this evening going over those verses, the phrase "His truth shall be thy shield and buckler" jumped out at me.  Wow!  Just ponder that!  HIS truth is a shield and buckler.  A buckler is someone who protects.  So God's is the One who protects us.  One definition for a shield is "a large piece of metal, carried by someone."  A shield is something that we carry to protect us.  It's something we can hide behind.  Not only is God our refuge and fortress, He is also a strong tower we can hide in!  He is the One who shields us.  So what does this principle look like practically?  Let me illustrate with what I was going through today.

I crashed on a bed in a dear church members house who lived walking distance from church.  Sometimes you just need a break.  I don't like to admit my limitations.  The realization of my human weaknesses had really caught up with me.  My brain and body said "rest"!  And yet I didn't like the reality of having to crash in someone else's house.  As I lay there I took time to reciting Bible memory verses from memory.  I imagined my Father in Heaven being right there with me saying, "I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10).  "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee."  (Jeremiah 31:3).  I'm thank that God loves me the same when I'm not performing as well as I'd like to, when I'm laying down resting, and when I'm feeling exhausted, as He does when I'm busy working.  God is my Father who sees Jesus in my heart, rather than just seeing my faults.  Just as He said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased", to Jesus, He looks at me as His daughter, who He is pleased in!  Those truth's were what comforted me.  They were the shield that shielded my mind from becoming discouraged this afternoon when I was at the breaking point.

When I thought, "I can't keep going, I'm pushing too hard...."  I knew such thoughts were not truthful.  "Lord," I prayed, "I'll give you my all, you are going to have to use me, you are going to have to be the One to do this, and to strengthen me, because I don't have the strength to give anymore!"

God's truth is what gives me the strength to keep going, even when I'm tired, even when I see all my faults and am amazed at how God is still working through me.  Rather than getting overwhelmed by feelings of exhaustion, or looking at my weaknesses and saying "I can't"; I look to the promise of God that says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  (Philippians 4:13).  "Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint."  (Isaiah 40:29-30).  This is how God's truth becomes my shield and buckler!  It's the battle of the mind, it's the mind being able to accept the truth that God's says, even when I feel the opposite!  It's realizing that God will carry me through!

Nothing anyone else can do for me - not even the prayers, support, love, or encouragement of my church family, my family, or friends - can be my "safe place", shield, or buckler!  My accomplishments, my understanding of things can't be my shield!  I'm a young person who covets knowledge.  I love learning and I want to understand everything!  I've always wanted to be an intellectual person.  In my human reasonsing, educaiton would be a great shield to "hide behind"!  And yet I'm in a place where I can't trust my education, I don't have enough!  And even if I had more, it wouldn't tell me how to reach the hearts of my Bible study contacts!  Only God's truth can be my shield, and buckler!  As the hymn syas, "Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior".  That is where we each need to be!  May God's truth be your shield and buckler!  In a world that is falling a part, in a world of problems, in a world that has no safe place other than God, may He be our hiding place!