Daily Devotional -- God is Our Sun and Shield

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!" -- Psalms 84:11,12 (NKJV)

God is light and He is brighter than the sun. The sun, as we know it, lights up the earth that we live in. The sun never sleeps, as with God, in that it is ever shining even when we rotate on our axis and turn our backs to him. Moreover, the sun, among other things, gives energy and allows for photosynthesis to take place. 

To digress, as gleaned from TheFreeDictionary.com, during photosynthesis:

"A. sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll in a leaf

 B. carbon dioxide is taken in from the air

 C. water is transported from the roots

 D. glucose is synthesized and distributed throughout the plant

 E. oxygen is released"

The sun is already awesome -- how much more awesome by far is our God who created the sun!!

I would also add the sun is highly noticeable and we have enjoyed the uplift of bright sunny days. Yet, we may at times forget to give thanks for the sun and take it for granted. Or, we may even wanna shun the sun which could eradicate the fungi or mold infecting our garment.

In Genesis 15:1, "... the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”" 

Just ponder and forget your seaside villa, Bombadier jet plane, Bugatti Veyron or Patek Phillipe Henry Graves Supercomplication which are but a speck in comparison to divine fellowship with God Himself.

Consider this sampling of the Psalmist's testimonies:

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2 (NKJV)

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him." Psalm 28:7 (NKJV)

Speaking of giving, we can never out-give God -- He had already given us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And, God is a giver of good things. Reflect deeply how significant it is for God to give us grace (mercy) and glory (honour) to those who walk uprightly.

God is the LORD of hosts. According to gotquestions.org, "The word LORD, capitalized, refers to Yahweh, the self-existent, redemptive God. The word hosts is a translation of the Hebrew word sabaoth, meaning “armies”—a reference to the angelic armies of heaven. Thus, another way of saying “LORD of hosts” is “God of the armies of heaven.” "

Indeed, how blessed is the man or woman who trusts in the LORD of hosts. After all, when all is said and done, we enter the realm of eternity with God. With wisdom, we might as well start living in the knowledge of the backing of the LORD of hosts while on earth, walk uprightly and start rehearsing for the life we are meant to live.