For four days now I have been battling some virus. In an effort to help protect my husband, considering his weakened heart condition, and keep my extended family from getting ill, I have been isolating myself and wearing a mask when passing through common areas in our home. I have declined luncheon requests and coffee visits, sadly invitations to celebrate my birthday, but will enjoy anticipating these outings another time. I am using due diligence to attempt anything beneficial I know to do to help my family remain healthy.
This is not lack of faith in trusting the Lord. This is applying wisdom. I believe there is a partnership between faith and works. Yes, we trust God ultimately for our protection as David writes in Psalm 11, but when we know measures we can take that are prudent and preventative, we are acting in foolishness when we do not apply the knowledge the Lord has given us.
Nehemiah reminds the people first to "Remember the Lord". He encourages them not to be afraid of their enemies. Nehemiah's first response was to turn to God. Scripture records in Nehemiah 4:9, "But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves." There is this dance between putting confidence in God while taking steps of common sense. The people didn't just pray "God protect us" and then knowingly expose themselves to the real threat of danger without taking precaution. Half the men worked while the other half stood guard, armed and ready against attack. Verse 23b tells us, "We carried our weapons with us at all times, even when we went for water." Was this living in fear? No, this was living in revere of the Lord, in respect of the knowledge He gives us.
Faith and works do not need to be an either/or decision. I love have Nehemiah records that they prayed "and" guarded. Being vulnerable before the enemy, knowing the reality of danger that is lurking, and doing nothing, is reckless. God gave us all minds and access to knowledge and He expects us to put into practice the insight and discernment He supplies. It is often through this God-given, Spirit-led perception that He is protecting us.
Sometimes the Lord makes it clear that there are necessary actions we need to personally take and we will be accountable for doing what we ought to do. I think we have all heard the story of the man who was stranded on his roof after a flood who prayed for the Lord to save him. Refusing rescue attempts from helicopter and boat the man dies and upon entering heaven inquires why the Lord did not respond to his cry for help. To this God replies: Who do you think sent the plane and ship?
Sometimes God's plan for our protection comes in very practical ways of application. Taking medication is not lack of trust. Purchasing a deadbolt for your door is not dismissing faith. Locking your car doors, wearing a life-jacket, going inside during severe weather, using a helmet riding a bicycle, these and many other acts of good judgment are often passed down from those who have experienced their benefit and know them to be valuable.
To trust God does not mean to abandon our thought process. When there is action that needs to be taken, the Lord provides the strength for the task and the know-how for the how-to. We are not to live heedlessly but as we guard what He has entrusted to us, He is guarding us. Don't forget. Trust is a verb and sometimes the action needed is carrying our weapon even if we are never called to use it.
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