Protection
The Lord is good.
He protects those who trust him
in times of trouble. ~ Nahum 1:7 (NCV)
(Paul wrote: Epaphroditus) was so sick that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him—and not just on him but also on me, because his death would have caused me great sorrow. ~ Philippians 2:27 (CEB)
Powerful Lord, I'm so messed up that I worry about what you might do to me if I do something wrong. You're always watching me -- and that is scary. But it seems that you are not watching me so that you can catch me doing wrong things. You are watching me so that you can protect me. When I stop and think about it, I realize that you have had mercy on me and protected me numerous times. Thank you. I'm going to spend the day thinking about all the ways that you have been kind to me in this way. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
