God Is My Protector (Leave Me Not Defenseless)

Artist Statement

Psalm 141 Upon reading this Psalm for the first time, I began to think of the difference of Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Which brings true life and which brings destruction? It’s hard to know, especially when something seems harmless or could even be rewarding. Our reality is that there are traps set up for us in our days. We fall into them thinking that something there will indeed bring us the security, comfort, and gratification that we want, but they are designed to capture us. David is pleading to the Lord to help him to not fall into these traps set up by the wicked. He asks the Lord to help him to not be enticed by the things they have to offer. Why would he ask for this if those things didn’t bring some sort of satisfaction? Indulging in our sins can offer immediate gratification, but can never provide long-term safety and peace. David understood this and knew he had to ask for protection. The tree in this painting represents the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It seemed good for Eve to eat, but ended up being a deception and resulted in the Fall. The fruit was bitter. Like Eve, we partake of the fruit - deceiving ourselves with the belief that we know better than God. True joy, hope, comfort, peace, satisfaction, and wisdom are all found within Christ and His ways — not our own! On the sides of the canvas, I have written in Hebrew, “Elohim Shomri”, which means “God Is My Protector”. Ultimately, He is the one who will lead us away from the traps that we may not see. He invites us into wisdom and discernment with Him. He invites us to cast off our old selves, to deny ourselves of the instant gratification that sin brings, and to follow Him along His narrow way. Let’s join in David’s prayer of wisdom and trust in our Good Shepherd to guide.