God gives us his promise that in the midst of our sufferings he will surround us with the Fire of Protection. The prophet Zechariah spoke these reassuring words in the name of the Lord: "But I will be for (Jerusalem) an encircling wall of fire, says the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst....Whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye" (Zech 2:9, 12). A fire is lit to  protect the camper from the wild animals.  As long as the camper stays close to the fire, there is protection; stray from the fire and the camper risks being attacked.

God does not promise us that we will not be harmed but that though we are persecuted,  tortured and eventually killed, as long as we are faithful, we will not experience the second death. 


The Spirit is given to us to protect us and defend us in times of struggles and temptations. That is why we are told by Jesus that he will not leave us orphans but will send us another advocate.  As part of this defense, the Spirit will convict the world of sin, justice and condemnation.  As Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to prepare for the temptations ahead of him, so the Spirit is given to us to prepare and empower us to deal with the temptations of the evil one. But again, I must cooperate with the grace given me and not try to deal with temptation on my own initiative. He who is within me is greater than he who is outside. But that strength is not effective if I don’t take advantage of it and try to deal with the temptation on the evil one’s turf rather than the Lord’s encircling protection and strength.