“God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.”
Psalm 18:30 NLT
At first reading of our verse today, perhaps a new Christian would think that the Christian life before him will be an easy one, without the hassles and struggles the people of the world are facing into. After all, when we read about God’s way being perfect and God providing a shield to protect us, what could go wrong? Add into the mix a Bible full of God’s promises, which will all become true, so David wrote, then becoming a Christian must open a door into a utopian world never before experienced. But after a few weeks into the journey, reality starts to dawn, that being a Christian in the true New Testament sense introduces a way of life that not only includes the difficulties previously encountered, but also includes the discipline of following the Lord. So why do we seasoned pilgrims do it, plodding along the roads, sometimes as though through treacle, that lead to a life beyond the grave?
Well, for a start, we have to consider our future. We responded to the message of forgiveness of sins, to a God who loves us and cares about us, and who wants us to join Him in Heaven where we will live forever. We continue in our journey to try and become more like Jesus, cleaning up our lives, our thoughts, our actions, our relationships, in the process we call sanctification. To be honest, it can be hard work at times. It’s great when all is well, and we experience wonderful times of prayer and worship, our spirits flying high into Heavenly places, seemingly touching the very fringes of Heaven itself. But there are then other times when we find valleys of darkness and turmoil, when the Heavens seem like brass, and we cannot even pray effectively, let alone find the means to worship, times when we even find that opening the pages of our Bibles becomes a chore.
But none of this devalues the words of David, written so long ago. God’s way is indeed perfect. We cannot dispute that, and the wonderful thing is that He helps us understand and follow His way. One of His promises is written there in Deuteronomy 31:8, “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you”. That verse was written to encourage the Israelites, but its timeless message hangs in the air over us even today. What a wonderful thought that our Lord Himself is there just before us, showing us the way, helping us over the obstacles our enemy, the devil, has placed in our paths, and nothing will happen that will cause Him to abandon us, whatever the circumstances.
And we read that God Himself is our shield, protecting us from the fiery darts of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16, “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil“. Our faith in God will protect us. It is often good to look back over our lives and see those times when disaster could have struck us down, was it not for God’s shield protecting us. Strange circumstances that inexplicably emerged to keep us safe. I remember times that could have gone horribly wrong was it not for God’s protection, times that even now, many years later, drive me to my knees in deep prayers of gratitude.
So today, we pilgrims continue our Christian lives, embracing the One who made it all possible. We will not deviate to left or right, but instead will set our faces towards the Light that is before us. Those of us in our twilight years can perhaps see a faint glow on the horizon, likened to the dawn of a new day. That’s where we are heading, folks, and nothing will stop us because “God’s way is perfect”, His “promises prove true”, and “He is a shield for all who look to him for protection”.
Father God, thank You for all You have done for us. One day we will find out the total story of Your goodness and love, and will fall at Your feet in worship. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 