When we think of being vulnerable, it is a contradiction to think we can be protected. The words are opposites. The uncomfortable truth is that yes, we are vulnerable, but the bigger truth for the Believer is-we can be protected in our vulnerability.
We are creative in the ways we try to protect ourselves. Then one day the Holy Spirit holds up a mirror of truth to us and asks us to trust Him, to set aside our “protection.” The amount of fear that creates is in direct proportion to our layers of self-defense. Perhaps the most fearful realization is what we see in the mirror: we already are vulnerable.
In that moment, He invites us into care. We can stay in the rags of our vulnerability or enter into His protection. The psalmist calls it the secret place
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I (confidently) trust. Psalm 91:1-2 Amp
And how do we enter the secret place? Look at verse 14. The Amplified Bible translators took the Hebrew and gave us an explanation of the meaning when there was no single word translation. In this verse the speaker is the Lord, and He says:
Because He has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name. Here’s what it means to understand His name, he [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love and kindness; trusts and relies on Me; knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
We are in the secret place when we love, trust, and rely on Him with personal confidence that because of who He is, He will never forsake us. It is an intimate one-on-one knowing that He holds us in His heart and we are welcome there.
Amazing protection and provision is ours when we dwell, when we live, in who God is. Grasping this is a life-long journey. Each truth we accept from Him in exchange for a lie we have believed is another step on the road.
Back to the beginning. True, we are so vulnerable that we cannot protect ourselves, but there is a bigger truth. God offers us His personal protection. It is ours if we accept it.
(this article first seen in the April 2010 Way of Life newsletter)