"Ruled of God"

"Thou hast given me the shield of Thy salvation: and Thy right hand hath holden me up, and Thy gentleness hath made me great." (Psalms 18:35) As I was pondering all the reasons that God's greatness makes me so in awe of Him, I could not help but think of all that He has done to ensure that I am well cared for. I am not talking about the cares of this world, such as food, clothing and a place to sleep; although He has always provided those things for us, and we have never gone hungry or had to sleep on the streets; but it's all that He has provided for me to grow up strong in Him. From the time that I was just a babe in Christ, He has taken me by the hand and has taught me to listen, how to walk, and how I must chew my food. When it comes to our salvation that we have in Christ Jesus, we are automatically put in a position where we are ruled of God; right from the start, we are taken from the place of being ruled of this world, and are brought to the place where we are ruled of God. Primarily it is because we are now His children, and being that we are His children, He dresses us, feeds us, and provides all that we need for our spiritual life; but more than just being His children, He has placed His Holy Spirit within us, and has given us new source of direction in our lives. Prior to my new life in Christ I had always lived for the satisfaction of the flesh; always doing whatever it took to try and satisfy everything that this flesh wanted or thought that it needed. The biggest change that I noticed from the day that I accepted Christ in my heart, was how God replaced that desire to feed the flesh, with a new desire to feed the Spirit that now dwelt inside of me. With that new desire, God's gentleness was made very clear in the way that He raised me up by His Spirit; not forcing me to move in this direction or that, and defiantly not scolding me for not getting something right; but taking the time to show me not only how to move, but why it was important to move in such a direction. Looking back over these last thirty plus years of walking with the Lord, I can see how He has allowed me to move out in my own direction, yet He was always right there to prevent me from going too far; allowing me to understand why I must always try and follow His direction and not my own. Looking at this verse from the perspective of a child that is cared for by a loving Father, we see three very significant aspects of how He cares so very much for the way that we grow up in Him. The first of which, is that He has given us the shield of His salvation; taking us out of the care and righteous doings of ourselves, and placing us in the care of His righteousness, so that we are secure in Him. Then, as to assure that we are kept in that place, well secure from all that might come against us, or knock us to the ground, He holds us up in His right hand; making sure that we are not only secure, but that we know that He has a hold on us. And then, as only a loving Father can achieve; He fashions us into that which He wants us to be; gently and tenderly showing us how to pick ourselves back up, and then He gently guides back on our way...