I have a guard dog. She's not a trained guard dog, and doesn't look like a guard dog. She's just a mid-sized mixed breed, a sweet old girl. Muffy wasn't even my dog to start with, but somewhere along the way she chose me to be her person and decided she needs to guard me at all times.

Muffy follows me wherever I go. If I'm sitting at the table, she's laying nearby. It looks like she's sleeping, but all it takes is a slight shuffle of my chair and she bolts up, ready to follow and protect me if I'm actually getting up. If I go into a room and close the door, she will lay outside the door until I come out, and I have to be careful not to trip over her.

An area of danger that Muffy senses for me are delivery vans and mail vehicles. She knows approximately what time the UPS and Fed-Ex vans go by each day, and she takes her position at the living room window to watch for them. As soon as she hears them coming, she alerts me to danger with her ferocious barking, and continues to stand guard and bark until they go back down the road again. She takes her job very seriously.

But Muffy isn't my only guard. God also takes guarding me very seriously, and has provided a number of ways to protect not only me, but each of us. He tells us in Psalm 91:11 NIV, “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” He also guards us through His word, as Psalm 91:4 NLT tells us, “His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”

The Lord guards us by giving us His wisdom and understanding. Proverbs 2:6-8 NLT says, “For the Lord grants wisdom! From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to Him.” He continues in verses 10-11 NIV, “For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”

God's peace will also guard us. Philippians 4:7 NLT says, “Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” We do not have to give in to worry and fear when we have God's peace to protect us.

How do we get this peace that guards our hearts and minds? We see in the proceeding verse, Phil. 4:6, “Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.” This is an example of God giving us wisdom and understanding from His faithful promises to learn how He guards us and how we can receive His protection.

We can cry out with the psalmist for God to guard and protect us. “Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me” Psalm 40:11 NIV. And He will answer, “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name” Psalm 91:14 NIV.

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