While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’

Zechariah 2:3-5

Sweet friend, I’ll be the first to admit, when I’m studying God’s Word, I gravitate more toward the Old Testament histories or toward the New Testament, and I typically avoid the books of the prophets altogether. After all, most of what they prophesied for the Israelites has already happened, right?

But friend, God doesn’t put a single word in His Word that isn’t for our good. That means the words of the prophets are just as relevant to us today as they were to the Israelites centuries ago.

I recently began a study titled “Amos: An Invitation to the Good Life” by Jennifer Rothschild. It’s not something maybe I would have chosen for myself – pretty doom and gloom messages our old friend Amos appears to deliver – but God always knows what we need before we do.

In this week’s reading, Jennifer brought our attention to a section of Amos stating that God would punish Israel’s enemies with fire. She then pointed out Zechariah 2:3-5 and the encouragement that comes from knowing that God surrounds all of His children – that includes you and me, Believer – with a wall of His holy fire. We don’t have to worry or fight back when others seek to harm us because God has us completely encircled in His protective wall of fire.

I love this truth that Jennifer points out and it’s amazing encouragement for us all when someone is being intentionally cruel to us or has come against us in some way. But as I reflected on Jennifer’s message and God’s protective fire, I started to wonder about all of the times that I am my own worst enemy – how does God protect me, from me?

With fire.

Yes beloved, you read that right.

God protects me from me with a hot and holy wall of fire.

You see, the message Zechariah received from the angel was that God encircled Jerusalem with a wall of fire and His glory was within it. This means that His glory was with His children – inside the wall of fire.

Outside the wall of fire was the enemy.

Today God’s children are spread all across the face of the earth. Just as the angel told Zechariah, we do not fit in a walled city with physical walls. God encircles every Believer with a wall of fire and His glory is with us through Holy Spirit who enters us when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

“Do you not know your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;” – 1 Corinthians 6:19

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” – John 14:15-17

Outside the wall of fire is danger. Inside the wall of fire is His glory.

Sweet friend, when we seek that which is outside His glory – those things that He disapproves of, that are offensive to His holiness – we sin against God. Essentially, we push against the wall of protective fire that He has placed around us.

Like the good, good Father He is, God teaches His children through His Word not to touch the fire – to stay within the boundaries that He has set for our lives, boundaries that allow us to live close to His glory, rich with His blessings.

But friend, sometimes I don’t listen.

Sometimes I look beyond that protective wall of fire and I think I know what’s best for me. I look for ways to go under the fire or over it or around it, but dear heart, the end result is always the same – I get my fingers burnt.

Our God is serious about His protection of us. His love for us is too great to allow us to pass easily into sin. If we want to sin, we’re going to have to pass through that protective wall of fire – and it’s going to hurt. Maybe not right away and maybe not in a way that other people can see, but reaching beyond God’s protection to grab ahold of sin always leaves a mark.

I know that sounds harsh – that what God uses to protect us will also burn us if we seek to leave His protection – but beloved, I’d rather have blistered fingers than a broken spirit, singed eyebrows instead of burnt bridges with loved ones.

I am thankful for God’s protective wall of fire. I am thankful that He keeps danger from me, that vengeance on those who seek to harm me belongs to Him and not to me. And I am thankful that He keeps me close to His glory and far from sin with that same wall of fire; I am thankful for the quick hot flash of Holy Spirit conviction and the slow, agonizing burn of guilt that turns me away from sin and back toward Him and His infinite glory.

God doesn’t waste a word in His Word. I pray that these words help you see how serious God takes His protection of you. That you come to know Him better through His faithfulness to do all things for our good.