Walls

 

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. – Proverbs 25:28 (NIV)

In Scripture, walls symbolize protection, particularly God’s protection so, when Solomon in his wisdom writes that a person who lacks self-control is like a city whose walls have been “broken through” what he is in fact saying is that person, by their inability to regulate their emotions, thoughts and behaviour, is easily manipulated and coerced into compromising their divine security.

The person who lacks self-control allows every negative word they hear and every trial that comes their way to affect their life. When you lack self-control, your walls collapse.

God does His part by providing His protection, but you have to take responsibility to ensure that your spirituality is not infiltrated.

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways – Psalm 91:9-11 (NIV)

You must entrust your safekeeping to God. Look at what divine protection affords you when you declare that God is your security and you abide in Him. No outside forces can breach your walls.

The person who lacks self-control is not placing their trust in God but is allowing whatever is happening around them to govern their life.

When you place your trust in God, external circumstances will neither control you nor affect you.

Things happening outside of you do not have to become the things inside you. Poverty that surrounds you does not have to govern your life instead trust God and my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

The self-control that the bible talks about has nothing to do with not eating another slice of cake, that’s restraint, biblical self-control has to do with controlling your soul – feelings, thoughts, intentions.

Situations and people’s actions do not have to trigger a reaction from you. Isaiah 53:7 says about the coming Messiah,

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Adopt this as your mantra.

Beloved, when you’re surrounded completely by God’s protection there’s no fear of the walls being broken through by enemies. As He did with Job (Job 1), God places a wall of protection around those who love and acknowledge Him.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. (Psalm 91:14 NIV)

These aren’t walls that we’ve built ourselves which are prone to breach and collapse, these are the fortified impenetrable walls of God; it’s being hedged by God Himself.

Placing your trust in God will keep your walls from being broken through and you can rest assured that the Lord will keep you from all harm he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore (Psalm 121:7-8 NIV).

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “Walls” ©2026 February 14, 2026