Psalm 16:1 “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.”

I love a nice hedge or bush.  In fact, I have planted or maintained several through all my moves.  One, in particular, reminds me of this verse, though.  When we lived in Florida, our first house had an ugly utility box in the right front corner of the lot, right next to the street.  So, I decided to plant something around it so it would be hidden.  I wanted a nice flowering hedge of some sort, so I picked a bougainvillea.

Do you know anything about bougainvilleas?  Well, it grows pretty fast and has beautiful flowers.  However, it also has large thorns which can tear you up.  What began as a flowering hedge to hide something became a flowering tormentor which “protected” that box.  You see, that word “preserve” in our verse can be translated “put a hedge about.”

TEACHING MOMENT

We can build hedges to hide or protect.  We need to pray a hedge around our children to keep them from harm or evil influences.  Have you ever prayed that?  “Lord, please put a hedge of protection around little Gertrude.”  We need to do that.  We need to ask the Lord to protect their hearts.

But we also need to teach our children to pray that themselves.  They need to learn how to pray for spiritual wisdom and understanding.  There is no better “hedge of protection” than God’s wisdom and understanding.  If they have the mind of God they will make good decisions.

How are you doing, Mom and Dad?  Are you praying that for yourselves?  We can get attacked and brought down.  We need to be praying that for ourselves each day.  Temptations are great.  We must guard our hearts.  No – we must pray for God to guard our hearts with His hedge of protection.  I want the Lord to plant huge, spiritual bougainvilleas around me to keep the enemy away.  How about you?