Exodus 33:19, “And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ ”
2nd Samuel 22:31, “As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.”
God is protecting you from yourself.
Have you ever considered what temptations, trials, or tribulations God has already protected you from? Ones you never even felt or experienced. Have you reflected on the ones where He delivered you from the very midst? How many times has He saved you from yourself? These unseen instances are probably too great to count. The visible instances are often easy to forget. Yet we cannot underestimate His sovereignty. We cannot overestimate His love. We have His word that we’re protected. By His outstretched arm and mighty hand He protects His people. It may not seem like it today, but He is busy at the work of protecting you. That is not to say he won’t keep us from harm or even death, but it is to say His sovereignty is implicit in it.
Instead of spending time asking questions about why He won’t deliver you from your sin or circumstance, reframe your perspective and attempt to see where He is already saving you from the magnitude of it.
When I reflect on my sexual addiction and all the damage I did, I can also see how much worse it could have been. There were so many opportunities for me to blow up my life with more magnitude and collateral damage, and God was faithful to protect me. From myself. In a sense, He let me enter into painful circumstances to avoid even more painful circumstances.
Perhaps even today God is protecting us from ourselves. Let us be thankful.