Episode 398: I’m Talkin…Protect

I’m Talkin’, episode 398 for November 30th, 2025.

This is Joel from the I’m Talkin’ microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking protect.

Protect is a fairly common word.

I think we understand what it means.

You know, we think about it probably more in relationship to maybe our home and probably our family.

We think of maybe, I don’t know, a reputation, maybe protecting that.

And it just means to guard from decay is probably a good way to look at it, to guard from injury.

You know, we want to protect our kids from the dangers of the world and yet teach them how to grow up in it.

We want to, you know, protect the unity of our family by being kind to each other.

And it’s just something that is ingrained in us as parents.

It’s something that is ingrained in us as grandparents and maybe as people protecting relationships of close people that maybe aren’t part of our family even.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

So today’s word comes from Psalm 23, verse 4 that says, Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

That word protect in that verse is the same word that I’ve been talking about that the world uses in general sense.

It is to keep from harm, to kind of put a fence around, to be aware of the possibilities of things coming in to attack a unity in a sense.

But the difference is that the fear that might be ours when we are trying to be the end-all of our protecting resources, then that can get us in a fearful state at times.

We can lock things away.

But this verse says that God is there to protect and comfort us.

That’s a promise that God has made.

The action is not based on anything that we do.

It’s based on who God is.

And we don’t have to ask Him to do it.

That’s something that He does because we are His children.

And so when we think of protecting what is ours, that’s when we get in trouble as Christians because it’s not ours.

It’s God’s.

Our family belongs to God.

Our close relationships belong to God.

Our children belong to God.

And He will protect them.

He may use us as a dad and as a mom, as parents, as grandparents.

He may use us.

But God is the one that’s fulfilling a promise to protect and comfort.

And that’s the God that we serve as Christians.

And that’s why we can stand strong in the face of adversity.

And that’s why we can look forward to eternal relationship in heaven with our Heavenly Father.

And it’s why we can live a life of confidence because God does not break His promises.

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking microcast.