I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. –Psalms 91:2
God is my protector!
These words, although true, have not always been easy for me to speak. I have had experiences and grieved hurts that made me wonder if this was true for me.
Painful situations led me to assume that protecting my own heart was much safer and dependable than hoping He would. Why put that pressure on God, there were so many other things I needed his help with. I could handle this job.
But I couldn’t. I actually did a very terrible job at protecting my heart from hurt, pain, disappointment, abandonment, and rejection. And my attempts at being a protector, only made situations worse.
Me trying to protect myself was similar to when my child would spill milk all over the table and attempt to help clean it up by grabbing the dish towel and spreading the milk even more. Not only would I have a bigger mess but a dirtier dish towel too. That’s kind of how self-protection for me has gone.
When I would attempt to protect parts of my identity that needed to be surrendered, and protected by God, I’d create deeper wounds for him to heal. Not because he had to, but because he loves me and my healing matters to Him.
This is what freedom in Christ is for.
Every whip that tore through Jesus’ flesh, every insult hurled at Him, every thorn that pierced His head, was so that I could break free from the need to protect myself.
Our attempts to make less work for God (as if we could possibly handle even an ounce of his load) by doing his job “for him” are futile at best. So what should we do in place of trying to be our own protector?
1.) Identify what you are protecting that’s unhealthy to your identity in Christ.
2.) Embrace the truth that God is safe. He can be trusted with the parts of our identity that we have been protecting.
3.) Acknowledge that God is a better protector than you and I could ever be and he knows what should be guarded from us and what should be granted to us.
4.) Understand that sometimes God places people in our lives to help us break free and when we reject the wisdom from those people, we reject the role that they have in our journey to freedom.
5.) Tackle your Triggers. Triggers are often a counterfeit of discernment. If they do not line up with who God is and what he has said, we must learn to cast those thoughts down.
6.) Release your worries and Rest in God’s love for you.
Breaking Free is about inviting God into the places we have been keeping him out of. Freedom comes when we surrender and surrender comes when we trust that God’s intentions for us are always good.
Before we end, I would like to say a prayer with you:
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are marvelous and all-powerful. You the Sovereign Ruler of the heavens and the earth and yet you see me and love me more than anyone in the world could ever love me. Thank you for being a Good Father, Friend, and Lord. One that I can trust with the details of my heart.
Today Lord, I am surrendering every part of my life where I have tried to be the protector. I surrender the memories from my past that have led me to believe that I have to protect myself from others and even from you. God, I ask that you replace those memories and the lies that were planted in my mind and heart with your Word and your Truth. I break agreement with the lies of the enemy over my life in Jesus’ Name.
God, I ask that you would renew my mind and bathe me in your truth. I trust you to protect me.
In Jesus Name
Amen
I pray that this series has helped you to begin the journey of breaking free.
P.s. Lots of NEW things coming in 2022 that I can’t wait to share with you over the next couple weeks. While you wait, enjoy this Cover Story where I chat with my sister-friend Courtnaye of Inside Out with Courtnaye, on the topics of Focus, Balance, and Business.
Rachel G. Scott
Author
About
Rachel is a wife and a mother, writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. She has been featured nationally and internationally on television, podcast, radio, devotionals, and blogs. As the Founder of the I Can’t Come Down movement, an organization dedicated to helping women walk in their purpose and assignment with focus, she is a former Huffington post contributor and current Youversion and Moody Radio Cleveland Partner. She is also part of The Well Communicators a faith-based speaking team.
Rachel is deeply devoted to serving God, loving and honoring her husband and raising her children in a Godly home where they experience authenticity and learn to embrace their imperfections.