GOD: MY SUN AND SHIELD - PART 1

MONDAY 24 JULY 2023

I'm introducing a great topic which expresses the timeless truth that God is a sun and shield for those who fear Him. In the light of His countenance, we behold His glory and excellency, and as a result, we discover more of His love as a sun and shield. By trusting in Him, we walk in His light and enjoy His shield and comfort, as well as His favour and honour. More below!

Reference: Psalm 84:11 English Standard Version (ESV) "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."

The New Living Translation says, "For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right." In other words, the translator took it personal. God is not just a sun and shield but our sun and our shield.

To gain a deeper understanding of this wonderful Scripture, I'm going consider the contents of the versified segments which are stated in a germane and insightful sequence.

The segments are as follows:

1. For the LORD God is a sun and shield. 2. The LORD bestows favor and honor. 3. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

To understand what it means for God to be a sun and a shield for you, we shall equally look at both elements and their relevances in our personal or earthly life.

Now watch this: A sun and a shield signify the sum total of all the good things God offers His children. Put simply, all the goodness of God is encapsulated in His expression as our sun and shield. This is the reason the end part of our referenced Scripture noted, "No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." So the beginning structure of this truth is highly connected to the end part. And that is: "For the LORD God is a sun and shield...No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly." Got it?

The life and all the good benefits that sun gives are originally in God, as in, its fountain. The shield He offers us is in Him as well, meaning that both the fullness of the sun and shield are with Him, and He communicates or conveys them to His children freely. The continuance and duration of such blessings in our lives do not cease or fail. In another way, His sunshine and shield will remain with us until the end of time.

The sun represents the beauty of God's dwelling place, which I will shed light on, in the successive parts of this topic. Furthermore, James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (NIV).

God is a Father of lights, and from the spiritual standpoint, God being a sun denotes the light of His divine presence, the spirit of wisdom and revelation, the light of His righteousness, which is Christ and His sacrifice that bring healing and salvation (See Malachi 4:2 NIV); and the light of the eternal Word, which enables us to see and grasp the truths of the glorious Gospel in their simplicity and excellency, and also the light of faith, which is the gift of God to all who receive the salvation in Christ Jesus.

The Bible says, "He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth" (2 Samuel 23:4 ESV). Here the Scripture talks about God being the sun that dawns on us like the morning light. Beloved, the presence of God is the theatre of great light, which manifests manifold and all-round blessings. He is the fountain of both spiritual and natural sun that grant us everything we need for living a godly life on earth. Stay tuned for part 2. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Genesis 1:16; Psalm 136:7-8, Isaiah 9:2; Habakkuk 3:4; 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Exuberant Declaration: The Lord is my sun and shield. He grants me an abundance of grace and glory, and He withholds no good thing from me as I function in His righteousness. Praise God!