God Wants To Protect You
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.
Isaiah 43:2
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
My eighty-four years old mother, shared with me recently, that a few weeks ago a storm came through and left sticks and brush all over her yard. She had decided to gather it all up by hand to dispose of it. About the time she was getting started, my cousin stopped by.
When he saw my mother out working in her yard, he told her that he had a machine that would gather up the sticks, and he offered to dispose of them for her. My mother did not want to impose on his time, so she said “it’s no problem, I can just gather them up by hand. My cousin insisted that he would be happy to do it for her. After going back and forth for a minute or so, my mother gave in and agreed to let him bring his machine to pick up the branches from her yard.
As he picked up the big batch of sticks and brush from the yard, he uncovered a large pink snake that was in the pile of sticks. My mother said that it was the most beautiful snake that she had ever seen. I found that amazing since I am scared to death of snakes and she is too.
I shudder to think what would have happened if my mother had insisted on moving those branches by hand. I know that it was no coincidence that my cousin showed up, just as she was about to start moving the sticks. I truly believe that God directed him to her, at just the perfect moment to protect her from a snake bite.
After listening to my mom, I wondered how many times God is trying to protect us from harm or danger, but we insist on having our own way. I know for a fact that God protects His children. However, if we insist on having our own way, we are refusing His divine protection. If we continue to insist on doing things our way, He will allow us to have exactly what we desire, only to find out later, that His way was best.
Today I want to encourage you to pay attention, and if things are not going exactly how you planned, or if you start to encounter roadblocks, be willing to get still and listen for God’s voice. Wait for Him to give you the green light before you proceed. God may very well be trying to protect you from a disaster.
You may be asking how will I know it’s His voice, and my answer to that question is, start to spend time reading your bible and talking to Him. Get familiar with listening for His voice, so that when He speaks, you have no doubt that it is Him. Find comfort in knowing, that because He loves us so much, He will only do what is best for us, even if it seems difficult at the time.
In the course of a lifetime, we may encounter many snakes under piles of sticks and brush, but if we allow God to, He will protect us from a snake bite every time. Are you grateful today for His divine protection?
I know that I certainly am!
