The 360 degree 365 Day Hedge

UV 2103/10000 The 360 degree 365 day- Hedge
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1 v 10

God’s covenant with the faithful in all nations is that He places a hedge about their lives, their health, their household, their possessions. He blesses the work of their hands and establishes it. He increases their productivity and their production. He prospers them in spirit, mind and body such that the fruit of all three grow, mature, ripen and multiply. The enemy of our souls in contrast is like a fox that burrows holes in our hedges that it can snipe at our lives, our health, our families and our possessions. He attempts to curse all our efforts and bring it to naught. He frustrates our plans and tries to spoil the fruit of our spirit, minds and bodies in a variety of ways. He desires to steal our peace, rob our health and kill our hope. This is the reason the number and intensity of attacks and assaults on the faithful in all generations is much higher than those who are not in a bond or relationship with the Redeemer.

Knowing the enemy, his strategies and tactics in his single-minded desire to destroy our faith which is the basis of our relationship and our affirmation that “our Creator exists, our Redeemer lives, Our Lord rewards.” The enemy attempts to destroy the ‘f’ that stands for faith in our life and turn it into a lie. We are not alone in our resolve to frustrate the designs of our implacable foe of all times. We need to specifically ask the Lord to place a hedge of protection around our lives, our health, our loved ones, our fellow workers, our possessions, our workplace, our conveyances, our finances, our inner being, every one of our internal organs that the Lord has lovingly knit together in our mothers’ wombs.

It is not just a one time asking for the hedge to be placed around us. The word uses the metaphor of a hedge as it is a living fence. It needs daily and regular maintenance. It needs watering of prayer, tears, the word of God. We need to notice the gaps and fill the gaps as soon as possible. Any attempt by the fox to burrow a hole through should be detected early. Breaches or weaknesses in the hedge develop from time to time. We need to reinforce the hedge planting pillars of support by affirming the specific promises of the Lord meant for that area. We need to have an early warning system in place before it becomes too late and the fox not only makes an entrance but builds a nest inside of us. Some places the hedge gets overgrown- we need to trim these areas. The enemy’s advantage is surprise. He choses when and where to launch a strike. We need to apply the wisdom behind the “broken window” theory in policing wherein a sign of neglect like broken windows in an apartment complex is an invitation to antisocial and criminal elements to visit, occupy and spoil. Indeed, eternal vigilance is the cost of retaining eternal life though it is given to us freely and fully in Christ.

Prateep V Philip