Text: Psalm 40<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Evil exists in this world, and God is concerned about our welfare – Psalm 121<\/p>\n
A. With God on our side we have no fear of man – Hebrews 13:5-6<\/p>\n B. Yet many wonder why troubles beset us when the Almighty has promised us\nprotection.\n
II. We often don’t recognize God’s protection<\/p>\n A. Perhaps a story told by Dr. A. A. Hodges will help clarify the issue a bit: One day,\na man rushed into the presence of Dr. Witherspoon, an eighteenth century\nclergyman. "Dr. Witherspoon," he shouted, "help me to thank God for His\nwonderful providence! My horse ran away, my buggy was dashed to pieces on the\nrocks, and behold! I am unharmed." The good doctor smiled benevolently at the\ninconsistent, imperfect character of the man’s religion. "Why," he answered, "I\nknow a Providence a thousand times better than that. I have driven down that\nrocky road to Princeton hundreds of times, and my horse never ran away and my\nbuggy was never dashed to pieces." \n B. Here is a truth few Christians grasp. An accident occurs and we have a seemingly\nmiraculous deliverance. Immediately, we see God’s hand in it and praise Him and\ntell others of His marvelous act of providence. It never occurs to us to thank Him\nfor the times beyond number when we were spared even the accident.\n
C. God does promise protection<\/p>\n
1. He will guard our hearts and minds – Philippians 4:4-7<\/p>\n
2. He will protect us from Satan – II Thessalonians 3:3<\/p>\n
a. How? By limiting Satan’s power – I Corinthians 10:13<\/p>\n
b. He is able to keep us from falling – Jude 24-25<\/p>\n
3. We are preserved by the power of God – I Peter 1:5<\/p>\n
III. We expect more than God has offered<\/p>\n
A. God hasn’t promised complete protection from all harm<\/p>\n 1. This was the mistake Job’s friends made. They were certain that Job must\nhave sinned and incurred God’s anger. It was the only explanation they\ncould come up with to explain the evils that befell Job, but they were\nwrong – Job 42:7\n
2. Or consider the apostle Paul – II Corinthians 11:23-27<\/p>\n 3. Or ultimately consider the Son of God. Though he was without sin, he\nsuffered a cruel death at the hand of evil men. \n
B. God hasn’t promised to protect everyone<\/p>\n 1. Psalm 112 – Notice that it is offered to the one who fears God and delights\nin his law\n 2. John 17:11 – Disciples are kept through God’s name – by His authority, by\nHis law\n
a. It is not merely the use of God’s name<\/p>\n
b. The failure of the exorcists – Acts 19:13-16<\/p>\n
3. Only if we listen to God – Proverbs 1:33<\/p>\n
4. No harm befalls the righteous – Proverbs 12:21<\/p>\n
C. Often what we consider to be harm is too short-sighted<\/p>\n 1. Psalm 41:9-10 – David was harmed by close friends, but he recognized that\nGod remained with him\n
2. What lasting harm can be given to a follower of God? – I Peter 3:13-14<\/p>\n 3. Even in the midst of trouble, we need to realize that man’s worse is but\ntemporal.\n
IV. God can pull good from evil events – Romans 8:28<\/p>\n
A. Nothing in this verse states that only good will happen<\/p>\n B. Also notice that the promise is limited to those who are called according to His\npurpose\n
C. What sort of things? Take a look at Romans 8:31-37<\/p>\n
D. Consider the life of Joseph<\/p>\n
1. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers<\/p>\n 2. His master’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape, for which he was\nthrown into prison\n 3. When an opportunity arose for Joseph’s case to be brought before\nPharaoh, the man whom Joseph helped forgot about him for two years.\n
4. Yet Joseph understood why he suffered – Genesis 50:20<\/p>\n
E. The benefits derived from hardships<\/p>\n 1. Hardships cause some to turn bitter, it causes the faith of some to grow\ncold, it causes some to blame their God; but for those who remain true, it\nhelps them to keep focused on the real goal – heaven! – II Corinthians\n4:16-18\n
2. James 1:2-4 – This is why trails can bring joy<\/p>\n
3. Trials give us hope – Romans 5:3-4<\/p>\n
4. Trials shape us and perfect us – I Peter 1:6-7<\/p>\n
F. Psalm 91<\/p>\n
V. If God prevented all harm, then He would need to eliminate all sin and all sinners<\/p>\n
A. No one would be left<\/p>\n
B. No choice would be available<\/p>\n
C. Yet one day it will happen – II Thessalonians 1:3-10<\/p>\n
D. Knowing the ultimate outcome, we can join with Paul in saying – II Timothy 1:12<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Psalm 40 I. Evil exists in this world, and God is concerned about our welfare – Psalm 121 A. With God on our side we have no fear of man – Hebrews 13:5-6 B. Yet many wonder why troubles beset us when the Almighty has promised us protection. II. We often don’t recognize God’s protection A. Perhaps a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[186,182],"class_list":["post-32294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-protection","tag-suffering"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":84513,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-voice-of-experience\/","url_meta":{"origin":32294,"position":0},"title":"The Voice of Experience","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Bible Thought: \"O fear the LORD, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want\" (Psalm 34:9 NASB). Among the Bible passages I recall my dad mentioning is David's statement, \"I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8887,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/an-ideal-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":32294,"position":1},"title":"An Ideal Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 128 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We often speak of our longing for heaven, our home where the cares and troubles of this life will not exist. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We know that heaven is a blessing reserved for the followers of God, but all rewards for following God are not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21063,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-our-stronghold\/","url_meta":{"origin":32294,"position":2},"title":"God, Our Stronghold","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford Never in my lifetime have I seen an event have as significant effect on daily life as the coronavirus epidemic. I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9-11, but in both cases, it was business as usual almost everywhere. Not so with the coronavirus!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39827,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/confessing-our-faults\/","url_meta":{"origin":32294,"position":3},"title":"Confessing Our Faults","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 32 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I John 1:8-10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Forgiveness of our sins is not automatic. God has always required action on our part to gain His forgiveness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In this passage we learn that God wants us to confess our faults. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Confession has always been required by God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40908,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/psalms-119\/","url_meta":{"origin":32294,"position":4},"title":"Psalms 119","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverb 4:10-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do you learn? What do you need to learn? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The evil decay, but a child of God must learn - II Timothy 3:13-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is important for all aspects of life - II Peter 1:3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Your parents have invested a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49353,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-psalms-91-promise-protection-from-harm\/","url_meta":{"origin":32294,"position":5},"title":"Doesn’t Psalms 91 promise protection from harm?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, Thank you for this opportunity to send in questions. I read through another question on your site, one about\u00a0why God allows suffering, innocent children to die, etc. Your response was enlightening. Thank you. I would like to find out if you know why God actually allows the suffering\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}