It Shall Not Come Near Me

Natural Defenses Are Not Enough

When it comes to natural defenses, animals are so cool. They can do many unexpected things to protect themselves—like shooting ink to cover up their escape, or blowing themselves up to four times their original size so they don't fit in a predator's jaws.

But what about us? What defenses do we have? If it's natural defenses we're talking about, then being strong and athletic, or being really smart, is a real advantage. But the truth is that even the strongest or the smartest among us cannot fully depend on our own strength or intelligence to keep ourselves safe all the time.

Daniel: Smart, But More Than Smart

Take Daniel in the Bible, for example. Daniel was a very smart guy. Actually, Daniel was more than smart—he was wise.

From young, Daniel trusted in the Lord and worshipped Him only. To Daniel, God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of subjects. Daniel could also understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

Daniel was a Jew, but he served in the royal courts of several foreign kings who believed and trusted in other gods. Yet because of the wisdom that God gave him, Daniel was excellent in everything he did—so excellent that the kings he served all continued to favor and promote him.

A Jealous Plot

It was during the reign of King Darius the Mede that some palace officials became jealous of Daniel. King Darius was so impressed with Daniel's wisdom and excellence that he planned to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom.

This made the men really, really mad. "Who does this Daniel think he is?" they said. "Let's wait for him to do something wrong. Then we'll get him into trouble—big trouble."

But get this: even though they tried their best, they could not find a single thing wrong with Daniel's work. So the men decided to trap Daniel in the one area they knew he would not compromise on—his trust and faith in the Lord.

The jealous officials persuaded the king to make a law that made it illegal for anyone to pray to their God for 30 days. If anyone wanted to pray during those 30 days, they were supposed to pray only to King Darius himself. Anyone breaking this law would be thrown into the lions' den.

From our point of view today, King Darius should have said, "Wait—what kind of evil law is this?" But sadly, the king put the law in writing and signed it.

Daniel's Choice

Now, if Daniel was just a smart guy, he could have simply stopped praying for 30 days to protect himself. But remember—Daniel was more than smart. He was wise, because he chose to always put his trust in his good and faithful God.

So Daniel did what he always did and continued to pray to the Lord three times a day.

"Aha!" said the evil men. "We've got you now." They went to the king and reminded him of his law. Daniel had broken it. He had to be punished. The king had no choice but to give the order. And so, even though this was not what the king wanted, Daniel was tossed into the lions' den, and a big rock was placed over the opening.

A God Who Saves

But get this—even the king, who worshipped other gods, knew that Daniel's God had the power to save.

"May the God you serve save you," the king had said.

King Darius must have really hoped our God would save Daniel, because early the next morning the king ran to the lions' den and called out:

"Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to save you from the lions?"

To the king's great relief and amazement, Daniel answered:

"King, live forever! My God sent His angel to save me. The lions have not hurt me because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, king."

King Darius was very happy. He ordered Daniel to be taken out of the lions' den. Daniel was alive—and even better than just being alive, Daniel came out of the lions' den totally unharmed.

God Always Does the "Much More"

Did our God protect Daniel? Yes. But you should know by now that our God always does the much more, because He protected Daniel from more than just the lions.

Remember the bad guys? King Darius gave an order to toss them into the lions' den, and this time the lions got the lunch they had been waiting for.

Then King Darius wrote a new law for all his people, commanding everyone to fear and respect the God of Daniel. King Darius reigned almost 3,000 years ago, and yet he knew the truth about our God: Our God helps and saves His people. He does amazing miracles in heaven and on earth.

What about you? Do you know this too? I hope the answer is yes.

God Still Protects Us Today

The really good news is that our God continues to save and protect us from harm today and every day of our lives—even in situations when we cannot save or protect ourselves.

Let me tell you about a family who was protected from a huge storm. This family was on a road trip in America. While they were driving, they met a really bad storm. The strong winds shook their car dangerously—so strong that a traffic light pole snapped. The family was terrified.

They knew the promises of Psalm 91, but in that scary situation, the mom could only remember one line: "Lord Jesus is our refuge and fortress." They said it again and again, and they also started to pray in tongues.

As they continued to pray and declare the protection of Psalm 91 over themselves, they stopped being so afraid. After about 10 minutes, the storm calmed and they could continue their journey. That's when they saw the big tree that had fallen near their car.

"Wow, if that had fallen the other way, it would have crushed us all," one of them whispered. "Thank You, Jesus, for keeping us safe."

What We Learned Today

Rock Kids, what did we learn today? We learned that our God saves and protects. He does this in ways that we cannot do for ourselves.

• There was no way Daniel could have protected himself in that situation—and no one was allowed to save him either. Yet Daniel came out of the lions' den without a scratch.
• The family caught in the storm had no way to run from it or stop things from falling on their car.

But here's the one thing Daniel and that family had in common: they trusted in the Lord's promises to protect.

Say It With Me

Look at what Psalm 91:7 says:

"But it shall not come near you."

Now say it over yourself: "But it shall not come near me." Again: "But it shall not come near me."

See His love for you. See Him watching over you every moment of every day. No matter where you go, and no matter what you do, He never stops taking good care of you.

Know this, believe it, and remind yourself of it every day—so that no matter what happens around you, you know, and you know, and you know that surely He will actively protect you and keep you safe.

Let's Pray

Come, Rockettes, let's pray.

Thank You, Daddy God, that You are our refuge and our fortress, in whom we trust. And right now, Lord, we believe that Your protection and Your covering is over us and our families. A thousand may fall at our side, and ten thousand at our right hand, but it shall not come near us—because You love us and You take good care of us. We thank You, Lord, for protecting us and our families. In Jesus' name, everybody say, "Amen."

Receiving Jesus

If you're joining us today and you've not asked Jesus to come into your life to be your Lord and Savior, I want to give you a chance to do so now. Receiving Jesus is easy. All you need to do is pray this with me and mean it from your heart:

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me. I believe You are the Son of God who died, was buried, and rose again. Your precious blood washes away all my sins, making me forever right with Daddy God. I ask You now to come into my life to be my Lord and Savior. I am forever righteous, forever blessed, forever a child of God. In Jesus' name, everybody say, "Amen."