Day 172: Luke 13:34–35

Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (v. 34).

I want us to look today at a spiritual principle I call immunity—meaning, shelter from all evil imposition on God’s plan. One dramatic example of this principle is found in the account of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. The elements of immunity in their experience are easy to identify:

1. The witnesses get their power from God (v. 3).

2. When they are opposed, God dramatically defends them (v. 5).

3. When they have finished their testimony, the beast kills them (v. 7).

But . . . notice that the two witnesses cannot be killed until they have finished their testimony. And even at that, their deaths are by no means a tragic end to the story. God raises them from the dead and makes a mockery of their enemy (see Rev. 11:11–12).

Although the prophecy of the two witnesses is far more dramatic than the story of our lives, they illustrate a principle God applies to us as well. When we live under the umbrella of God’s authority and seek to obey His commands, the enemy may oppose us and even oppress us, but he cannot thwart the fulfillment of God’s plan for us. Any permission he receives to oppose us will be issued only for the greater victory of God. Death cannot come to the obedient children of God until they have finished their testimony. When we surrender our wills to the will of the Father, we find a place of blessed immunity. Strengthened by His power and shielded by His protection, we are assured of reaching our goal.

This principle is beautifully illustrated in Luke 13:34, where we see the heart of God on display as His Son cries out for the citizens of Jerusalem to come under His sheltering wings of protection. The Old Testament paints a similar portrait in Psalm 91. These words fall around us like a down comforter from heaven. The psalmist wrote: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91:1). The implication of this verse is that a place of safety—a certain level of immunity from evil onslaughts—exists for those who choose to dwell there. The concept of dwelling in Psalm 91:1 is virtually synonymous with the concept of obeying or remaining in John 15:10, where Jesus tells us we abide or remain in Him and His love through our obedience.

Obedience to our Father’s commands is the key to immunity from the enemy. Obedience is what positions us in the shadow of the Almighty. When we are living in obedience, any evil that comes against us will have to go through God first. Christ lived for one purpose: to do the will of the One who sent Him (see John 6:38). And because He was entirely surrendered to the will of His Father, Herod’s threat in Luke 13:31 had no power over Him. When the time came, the rulers and the chief priests could be used only as puppets by God in His pursuit of greater glory.

I am convinced the same is true for us. We gain the place of immunity through obedience to His will. This explains why Christ longed to gather the children of Israel into His arms the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but He did not. Why? Because they weren’t willing. They chose their own will over Christ’s, forfeiting the shelter of His wings. The result was desolation and defeat (see Luke 13:35; 19:43).

The same unwillingness can have similar results in our lives today. As believers in Christ, two different forms of immunity apply to us. All who personally receive the grace gift of God have the first kind of immunity: protection from eternal judgment. We stand in the shadow of the cross. The judgment that should have come to us came to Christ instead.

But the second kind of immunity does not come automatically upon our salvation. It results only when we surrender our will to the Father’s will. When we bow to His authority, we become immune to defeat and all other threats to the plan of God for our personal lives. I don’t mean we’re immune from trouble, tribulation, or even a certain amount of oppression, but they won’t be able to defeat us. Through obedience, we will possess and practice the God-given power to overcome them, and God’s plan will be uninterrupted.

I know these principles are true because I’ve experienced them. I have complete assurance of my salvation. I am convinced that the cross has immunized me against all judgment for sin. However, I have without a doubt been temporarily defeated by the enemy and done things that were not part of God’s plan for my life. By surrendering to my own will in certain seasons, I have stepped outside the shelter of the Most High. And although the enemy could not overtake me, he certainly had a field day with me.

Today, I am a living, breathing, grace-filled Plan B. But I’m a Plan B who has learned some painful lessons that have changed my practices. I presently jump out of bed with one primary plan of attack for the day: ducking under the sheltering wing of the Most High so the enemy will have to get through Him to get to me.

He yearns to lavish us with His possessive, protective love—to cover us from so many unnecessary harms. There is a secret place. Go, beloved, and hide.