There are coats for all occasions. In the summer we wear lightweight, unlined jackets, and they are perfect for warm summer afternoons. At the first touch of fall, we pull out our windbreakers. They cut the chilling bite of the north wind just enough to make us comfortable.
Come winter, however, and we reach for our heavy-duty gear. Our attire has to protect us from all manner of inclement weather: fog, rain, snow, and ice. We want the longest, heaviest covering we can find.
We dig out our OVERCOAT, because it covers us collar to cuffs. The wind can whistle, and the rain can rant, but underneath our overcoat, we remain warm and dry.
That’s what God does for us. He wraps us collar to cuffs, and when the devil lashes us with the storms of life, in God we remain warm and secure, safe in his everlasting embrace.
Let’s look at our OVERCOAT God:
O – He ORDAINS even the winds and the weather, and they cannot pass the line he draws.
Romans 13:1 tells us: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ORDAINED of God.”
When we wear the overcoat of God, nothing, and that means nothing can get through.
V – He is our VALIANT champion against the trials of this life.
Psalm 118:15 proclaims his immeasurable power: “The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth VALIANTLY.”
Elsewhere in this passage, David says his enemies “compassed him about,” but in the name of the Lord, he would “destroy them.” David resided securely in the overcoat of the Almighty God.
E – He ENLARGES his protection to cover any need.
Job 12:23 describes God in action: “He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he ENLARGETH the nations, and straiteneth them again.”
God controls the size of every people, every city, every nation, and every problem we face. He also controls the size of his protection, and when our overcoat seems to be too small, God simply ENLARGES it to protect us from the enemy’s assault.
R – He is the RIVER that provides nourishment to all his creation.
Revelation 22:1 shows us part of John’s vision: “And he shewed me a pure RIVER of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
When we are battered, God’s hand of provision is already reaching unto us, for his powerful overcoat of protection is wrapping us even as we pray.
C – He is the COFFER unto which we offer our love.
1 Samuel 6 speaks of the ark of the Lord, describing the COFFER attached to the side. In this COFFER they placed the jewels of their trespass offering.
Even the Philistines cowered and offered a trespass offering unto the Great God of the Israelites. The children of Israel found their protection under the overcoat of God.
O – We OBTAIN his favor by doing what pleases him.
Proverbs 12:2 gives us God’s dichotomy: “A good man OBTAINETH favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.”
God does not smile equally on the one who wears his overcoat and the one who doesn’t. It is under his protecting hand of grace that we find our safety in him.
A – He skewers our attackers ASUNDER, and none can stand against us.
Habakkuk 3:6 describes the flashing sword of God’s almighty power: “He stood, and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove ASUNDER the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting.”
We wear his overcoat as our armor, but he gives us a sword to strike the enemy down.
T – He raises TROOPS to come to our defense.
Amos 9:6 says: “It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his TROOP in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.”
Our overcoat is composed of all God’s armies, even the waters of the oceans. There is no thing he will not raise against the enemy when he comes to our defense.
We will go through our winter seasons, and the enemy’s storms will rage against us. However, there will be no recourse for the evil one, for with the coming of God also comes our overcoat, and it will keep us warm through the worst that comes our way.
Wrap up in Jesus, and the winter winds become a freshening breeze to invigorate our days.
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Code: FGO.J.24.14.vp