God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come
and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam.
Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Interlude
A river brings joy to the city of our God,
the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos,
and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders,
and the earth melts!
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress.
Recently, I was asked to write a devotional on God’s protection. I remembered the times God was faithful to show me how He was protecting me or others in my life. I will share one of them, but I also had to take stock of the times when tragedies have happened. Why wasn’t God protecting those people? Or was He??? Maybe His protection didn’t look like what I wanted or expected.
Going to Bible college on the opposite side of the country from my home made travel quite the challenge. Plane fairs were too high for this starving college student and gas was less than $1 per gallon. We would pack as many people in a car as possible and rotate seats and drivers.
If you have driven the I-40 you know the long, dark stretches of road. It was the middle of the night and my turn to drive. We were forty miles from the nearest town, Lordsburg, New Mexico. Suddenly, I noticed the gas pedal was not responding. My friend questioned why I was slowing down. I was not trying to slow! We were not out of gas. I coasted to the side of the road, where my friend took over behind the wheel. Except he didn’t. The car was running but all it did when he put his foot on the gas was rev the engine. We were not going anywhere.
This was way before cell phones, and even before the handy little roadside assistance boxes. It was 2:00am. My friend got out of the car and in about twenty minutes flagged down a car. Sadly, the man driving the would be rescue vehicle seemed quite inebriated. That wasn’t gonna work… nope. So the friend waited ‘till another set of headlights approached. Quickly, he realized that the car was packed with a group of guys that… well let’s just say they looked like they were up to no good. He told the three of us girls in the back seat to get down and start praying. We did. The second car was successfully waved on.
We all started praying. This could get dangerous quickly. Scott stood out waiting for the next car to approach. He could barely make out the headlights of the subcompact car inching down the freeway. They stopped. He explained to the couple and their dog that we were college students trying to get home for Christmas. We needed to get the car towed to someone who could get it fixed and maybe get a ride to the closest town.
The rescuers took my friend to call for a tow truck while his roommate (who happened to be an expert in martial arts) stayed behind to protect us. Hours later they all arrived back to the car where we were stranded. The guys stayed with the car until the transmission could be replaced. The three of us girls loaded with our toothbrushes and a spare pair of undies crammed into the back of this miniature car.
It was hard to be social in the middle of the night, let alone, being squished so tight we could hardly get a breath in or out. But we did talk to this couple, and of course their dog. We found out that they also were students at a Bible college, the one my sister and her husband happen to attend in San Diego. THEY KNEW MY SISTER AND BROTHER-IN-LAW.
I don’t even remember their names. I think they actually may have been angels. All I can remember is knowing 100% that God had sent them to us at the very moment we needed them. He loved us so much, he protected us from potential harm with the previous people who stopped and not only provide a ride to safety, but with people who knew my family. What are the “chances” of that?
With God, there are no coincidences. He had that couple drive by our broken-down car by divine appointment. He had them going in the direction we needed to go and impressed on them to stop and help us.
Who knows how many angels were hovering over us, keeping us safe. How many times do we not even know how and when God is protecting us.
We made it home on Christmas Eve with a new transmission and only one speeding ticket… also given to yours truly!
It was clear God was protecting us, even from our own foolish selves. We could see His hand of protection. Everything came out okay. But what about when God’s protection doesn’t look the way we think it should. What about the times where it all doesn’t come out okay?
You can about what God’s protection looks like, even when we cannot see it in this article:
Overcoming Grief with Hope: A Journey of God’s Enduring Protection.
How have you seen God’s protection in your life? It might be hard to see sometimes, but by His grace we are protected under His sheltering wings.
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