What If God Was Protecting You Even When You Were Doing Everything Wrong?

I want to start this the way every honest conversation should start: with the truth.

I made a lot of bad choices in college. I do not mean minor stuff. I mean the kind of choices that, when I look back now, I have no logical explanation for how I walked out of them okay. And for a long time I would think about those years with a mix of embarrassment and confusion — embarrassed that I went there, confused about how I survived it.

Then I hit Psalm 18:30 this morning. It caught me completely off guard.

"God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection." — Psalm 18:30 NLT

Honest moment: I had never really sat with this one before. And the line that stopped me was not the one you would expect. It was not "His way is perfect." It was "He is a shield for ALL who look to him."

All. Not the ones who had it together. Not the ones who made smart choices. Not the ones who were already in church every Sunday. All.

When Protection Does Not Look Like You Think It Should

Here is what came up for me immediately: college. The number of situations I walked into that I had no business being in. The danger I created for myself through choices that did not reflect any wisdom I currently have. And yet — I came out.

Then I thought about the harder stuff. I have talked about surviving suicidal thoughts. I have talked about sexual assault. Those are not things I brought on myself through bad decisions. Those are things that happened to me, that could have broken me permanently, and I am still here. Still building. Still writing this.

And then there is the stuff I do not even know about. The car that did not hit me. The situation that never escalated. The person who changed their mind at the last second. The danger God deflected before it ever got close enough for me to see it coming.

He protects my home. He protects my son Jordan. He has been doing it even when I was not paying attention.

The Thing About Perfect

The phrase "God's way is perfect" could be intimidating if you read it the wrong way. Like — if His way is perfect, and I am clearly not following it properly, what does that mean for me?

Here is what I actually heard this morning: God's way being perfect does not put that pressure on you. His perfection is not a measuring stick for your behavior. It is a description of His nature. He does not operate in error. He does not miss things. His protection does not have blind spots.

That means when He says He is a shield for all who look to Him — He means it. There is no fine print about only qualifying if you have been good enough. You just have to look to Him.

I needed that this morning. I need it most mornings.

His Promises Are True — Even the Ones You Have Not Claimed Yet

"All the Lord's promises prove true." I have been walking with God for a while now and I am still running into scriptures that feel brand new. This was one of them.

It hit me that I have been living in the results of promises I did not even know to ask for. Protection I did not think to pray about. Favor I did not see coming. And if that has been true without me knowing — imagine what is available when I actually stay in alignment with Him on purpose, every day, intentionally.

That is the practice. That is the invitation. Not perfection. Just proximity.

What Do You Do With This?

Take a few minutes today — not a formal prayer if that is not where you are — just a moment to think about the ways God has protected you. The obvious ones and the invisible ones. The ones you asked for and the ones you did not know you needed.

Then let yourself feel the gratitude. Not the forced kind. The real kind that shows up when you actually count it up.

God is not keeping score on your mistakes. He is keeping watch over your life. That is the deal. And He has been honoring it longer than you have been aware of it.

I do not know what you are carrying today. But I know this: the same God who protected me through the worst of my own choices and the worst things done to me — that same God is a shield for you.

Look to Him. That is the only requirement.

Peace, Love and Joy always — Infinite Faith and Favor | InfiniteFaithandFavor.com