Your Word says You will protect (Your people) from evil; but bad things still happen..?

the bringing clarity to misconception around what God's protection actually means and is..

(this is just one post of more to come regarding why bad things happen, another related post on why there is evil in the world can be read here)

(This post begins by explaining to you the reader the prompting of the post, and quickly transitions into sharing my discussion with God; This will look like the 'Y' in You will begin to be capitalized, meaning I am/was addressing Him, as opposed to you the reader).

Recently (in relation to when this was originally posted) , I had been talking to the Lord (ie praying), and had asked (God, my Creator), to protect me and my loved ones from evil.

Obviously my prayer was purposed for protection from anything bad happening, things that I wouldn't like and/or don't want to happen.

However, as I continued in conversation with Him about this, it was made known to me that this prayer doesn't exactly line up with scripture, at least not in the way I was purposing it.

I thought of some examples that illustrate that actually You (God) still allow evil to happen to Your people, (ie Your children (those who You adopted via Christ; those who actually love You, who have surrendered and themselves to You, putting their complete trust in You), In fact Your Word shares many examples, past and future regarding this..

And yet I know Your Word is true..

So how is it that Your Word can say that You protect us from evil, but evil still happens to us, and still be true?

So I asked You; “what does You actually mean when Your Word says that You protect us from our enemies and evil, being a shield?”.

(Some examples to illustrate where I am coming from):

You ‘will protect (us/me ) from all evil; (You) will keep (my) soul.’

Psalm 121:7

“For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.”

Psalm 5:12

“..You are a shield to all who take refuge in You.”

Psalm 18: ..30; Proverbs 30:..5

‘But the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. ‘“

2 Thessalonians 3:3

I was then reminded (by You), of how You had (the one I love, but who wanted nothing to do with You) leave me; and (the owner of the job that I imagined I would enjoy, but who worshiped spirits), reject me.

(Which was painful (especially the first), though not actually evil, but does not deter from the point of the message).

And You did so (one because I was not going to walk away from them as I should have), and two; In order to protect me spiritually; Protect my spirit from allowing myself to desecrating myself and even slipping away from You, dishonoring You by becoming ensnared and embedded with those who have rejected you and are separated from you and are even knowingly involved with demons.

You were protecting me from evil that would otherwise bring me to dishonor You and entice and ensnare me away from You. (Which is why I should have left or rather turned away at the first red flag).

After the job rejection , He had informed me of the following reason for doing so:

‘the things which the pagans (worship) is dedicated to demons and not to You and You do not want (me) to become associates with demons via partnership or participation with pagans.’

That I ‘cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the cup of evil spirits (spirits against God);

I cannot partake in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons,

or else I then provoke You to jealousy..’

(1 Corinthians 10:21-22)

When asked how one ought to pray, Jesus gave example of prayer in what is now termed, The Lord’s Prayer, but He included therein:

“..and deliver us from evil..”

(Matthew 6:13)

We want it to mean and therefore we hear ‘‘prevent’ evil from happening to me; Keep evil away.’ But this is not what it says, nor what it means.

No one wants bad things to happen to them. Little do we seem to be aware of is that evil is actually extremely enticing and most of the time we welcome it into our lives, (this is another connected message to dig into..) which is how it gains hold of us ensnaring in the first place, because our heart was not right to let it in the first place (we let it in with pride, unforgiveness, lust, envy, etc and all else is rooted in such).

“Deliver us”, meaning we have been ensnared by evil, save us and release us from it’s grip on us.

Illustrated by the Psalmist in 116: 3-8

"The cords of death encompassed me and the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord; “O Lord, I beseech (beg You with urgency), save my life!”

Gracious is the Lord and righteous; Yes God our Creator is compassionate. The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low and He saved me.

Return to your rest, o my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling."

Jesus stated we will also be persecuted and some/many, even overcome by enemies .. (Even He Himself, Your (only) Son, Jesus being prime example #1 that You do in fact allow evil to happen, and even to Your most prized beloved).. and it happened for our good and Your eternal victory.

So when Your Word speaks of Your protection against evil, it doesn’t mean evil is not going to happen to us; in fact it is and Your Word attests to this and even states that that which was intended for evil You will cause it to be used for the good of those who love You (Romans 8:28).

The Takeaway:

Your Word is speaking from a spiritual standpoint, of your kingdom which is real and eternal but intangibly unseen to us while we (Your children, those of us who choose You) live in a physical dimension; Your meaning is that You are going to protect our spirits (our eternity) from becoming overtaken by evil, (satan, our enemy), protecting us from uniting with evil or even becoming so entangled with that which is of him that we become irreparably and therefore eternally separated from You.

The Prayer:

Your Word is always right, good, and true forever. Please help us to understand It as You intend It to mean; that is Truth that is created by, because of and therefore according to You, (not us or what we think or what we want to be true).