Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :



I think that one thing which probably makes me a little different from a lot of other people -- particularly those worldly people who strongly support and live by the Second Amendment's "keep and bear arms" clause -- is that when it comes to my personal protection, I choose to live in faith, and not in fear. Now, I am NOT trying to put anyone down by making this statement. I am simply relating my own personal experience, and my personal preference; so please don't take offense.

I believe that I may mention somewhere else in my articles that when I was still young and living at home, my dad was the proud hunter type. He loved to go hunting with other family relatives each Winter. Sometimes, he would bring home dead rabbits -- full of buckshot, mind you -- and we poor kids were expected to eat them whether we liked it or not. That is, after my mother had dutifully cooked them. I don't know what she thought of the whole issue. I didn't like the gamey taste of wild rabbit, or the buckshot in my mouth, and I imagine that I felt sorry for the dead rabbits as well.

Then there was my older brother. One year he received a BB gun as a present. It wasn't long after that, that he was out there shooting birds and such, just for the mere fun of it. I hated it, and I disliked him very much for it. In fact, there were times when I would recover the injured animals, and try to nurse them back to health. I just felt so sorry for them. It really broke my young heart. You see, I loved nature, and I loved animals -- and I still do -- so in my eyes, what my brother was doing amounted to senseless and cruel killing for the sport of it.

Aside from all of the gun-related violence which occurs in the world every day, given those two factors which affected my personal life, perhaps you can understand why to this day, I do not like guns, have never owned a gun in my entire life, and have a certain fear of them as well. About thirty-five years ago, I worked for a few years as a guard for one of our local security companies. Naturally, I was required to wear a gun after having received some very minimal training, if you can even call it training. It was a Colt 45 as I recall. To say the least, it made me feel very uncomfortable. I am just glad that I was never required to actually use it.

Anyway, I have always been a pacifist. I have always strived to avoid violence, beginning when I was in the public school system so many years ago. To some degree, I suppose it had to do with self-preservation. I have mentioned before how I really hated the way that some of the tougher kids behaved, picking on and bullying other kids. As a child, and even as a teenager, I was very shy and introverted, and I would always keep to myself. The fact that I was so thin and underweight made me an easy target for the bullies. However, thankfully, I was usually left alone, and I only got into a few minor scrapes during my entire school life, which by the way, were not instigated by me. I just happened to be the next weakest link in the "food chain", if you know what I mean. I am reminded of verses such as the following:

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."


"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no
man shall see the Lord:"


"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."


"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth . . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God . . . But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."


"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."


"Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."


Unlike a lot of people who come to know the Lord a lot later in life, I have had faith in the Lord since I was at a very young age. Honestly speaking, I can't remember a time when I did not believe in God. Obviously, being a child, there was a lot which I did not fully understand regarding our Christian faith; but I did believe. When I became a teenager, and then a young adult, and began to study the Bible more in earnest, I don't doubt that my faith began to grow as well. After all, as the Apostle Paul writes:

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


Not only did my faith grow, but I began to understand how God works in people's lives, particularly when they dedicate themselves to His service, as I have strived to do for the past forty-seven years. This includes in the area of Divine Protection. I have mentioned before that when I was growing up, there were a few incidents where my life was in jeopardy due to my own foolishness as a boy. On one occasion, I could have drowned, had not a friend reached out and saved me. In retrospect, it was really a dumb move on my part, because I didn't even know how to properly swim, much less in a river.

On another occasion, I was involved in a bicycle accident in which I lost control of my bike -- because I weighed so very little -- and I was dragged down a very steep and winding, pothole-filled road, with my poor head bouncing up and down on the rough pavement. To make matters worse, the road was deserted, except for my bicycle companion and myself. I don't now where he came from -- because I was seriously bleeding and totally out of it at the time -- but a stranger in a car came by, put me in his back seat -- bloody head and all -- and drove me to the hospital five miles away, where I had to receive forty-two stitches in my head alone. But again, I survived by God's Grace.

It has been so long since I was a kid, that at the moment, I can't recall any other serious incidents where my life may have been in danger due to an accident, or some foolish move on my part. As far as outward serious danger is concerned, I have been spared in that area as well. Aside from those few school-related skirmishes, no one has ever threatened me in a serious way; not with a gun, or with a knife, or with any other weapon.

Now, some people may attribute this to luck -- which I don't believe in -- or to simply not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, while I do live a rather secluded life now, I do not believe that is it at all. I think it has more to do with the simple fact that I have strived to live a peaceful life, and I have also sought to please the Lord as well. As a result, my faith is that He has hallowed me about with His Divine Protection, so that no serious harm has ever come to me by way of physical violence from another person. It should come as no surprise to you that I say this. After all, the Bible is filled with Scriptures which state this very thing. Consider the following examples:

"The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence . . . As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him."


"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."


"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."


"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."


"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."


"I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust . . . A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee."


"Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield."


"[A Song of degrees.] I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."


"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."


"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"


It is evident then that God's Divine Protection is real to those people who trust in Him. That is how my personal faith runs. Aside from the reasons I have already mentioned, that is why I have never had the desire, and why I have never been motivated, to purchase a firearm. I simply don't need one. I am now in my mid-sixties. God has taken care of me just fine, and I have the faith that He will continue to do so until the day in which I die and go to be with Him. Now, if anything is going to get me, if anything is going to knock me out, I am inclined to believe that it will be this tired old body which seems to suffer more problems with each passing year. But that is the unavoidable way of life, and we must each accept it.

As I said at the beginning of this short article, I wrote this in order to share my personal experience with you, so that you may understand where I am coming from, and how I think. Your faith -- assuming you are a person of faith -- may run differently from mine. But if you are a Christian, then I hope that what you have read here will inspire you, and will help you with your own faith and trust in God as well.

Regarding the children of the world who may not even know the Lord, or the promises of protection which are found in His Word, I feel sorry for them. So many of them are filled with fear and paranoia. Considering the terrible shape the world is in from a social, moral and spiritual perspective, I suppose I can't really blame them. However, I do find it very sad that because of their lack of faith and trust in the Lord, they have found it necessary to arm themselves to the teeth with all manner of weapons for their protection. With the latest mass shooting which occurred in Parkland, Florida just two weeks ago, I know that even more of them are feeling justified in keeping a weapon under their pillow, or next to their bed in the night stand. I hope it is locked.

However, as I explain in related gun violence articles -- please refer to the reading list at the end of this article -- with us children of God, this should not be so. Owning guns or other dangerous weapons should not be a necessity; particularly not if our lives are pleasing to the Lord. In addition, we must not allow ourselves to become filled with fear; for as we find plainly written in the Scriptures:

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."


"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."


"The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?"


"The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."


"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."


"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."


"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."


"And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."


"So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."


Instead, we should be filled with peace through our faith in Jesus Christ. We should have such confidence in God's love, and in His divine protection, that we know in our hearts that nothing serious will ever happen to us. We should not allow our lives to ever be filled with fear, or be dictated by fear, no matter what is happening in the outside violent world of men. God has given us each a sanctuary of peace in our hearts through Christ. Consider the following group of verses:

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"


"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."


"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."


"Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them."


With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
Death: Final Battle, Final Victory
Killing and the Phinehas Priesthood
Killing, Murder and Military Duty
Owning Guns: What Saith the Scriptures?
School Shootings: The Second Amendment Controversy
You've Got It Wrong: Submit and Live!

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.