Psalm 138:7-8 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands." This episode talks about how God protects us from harm. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Be Bold & Turn To God (Be Bold Series)
Psalm 138:7-8 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand, you save me. The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.
When I read this passage, I got the picture of a football player holding the ball in his right hand, with his body turned away from the opposing player and his other hand out to block. However, instead of being a football player, it is God. He has His right arm around me, shielding me from danger, and His left hand out to shield me from the anger of my enemies. To me, this is a beautiful image. I am so thankful that I know that God is out there protecting me. I have heard some incredible stories of this protection. I think that sometimes we can think that God can protect us from things by helping us avoid them or making sure we are in the right place at the right time. And He does do this. However, He can also protect you from danger at the moment as well.
The verse above starts with the statement, “You preserve my life.” I would like to tell you a story that is an excellent example of this. The story is from the book “How To Live Like A King’s Kid." by Harold Hill. If you have not read this book, I can’t recommend it enough. It is so good and will definitely boost your faith. Here is a short excerpt of how God can save you from real physical danger at the moment.
“Recently, I was driving down a divided highway to a meeting. The dividing strip was maybe 20 feet wide. Suddenly, a car coming from the other direction, going about 70, the same speed I was traveling, started to cross the strip. It was headed straight for me. A 140 mph impact was in the making, with me in the middle. Mincemeat.
I was glad I didn't have to wait to get into the high gear of praise and Thanksgiving because I wouldn't have had time. It all happened so fast. Walking in the light has to do with all circuits being tuned up by praise and Thanksgiving all the time – in everything, giving thanks for everything. I have been walking in the light all day. So I thanked God and prayed in the spirit for the people in the other car all in the same breath, realizing it could be my last one. But I was singing the songs of Zion, knowing that King's kids don't have to graduate on Satan's terms.
The car hurtling at me was less than 20 yards away when suddenly it shot straight up in the air and turned upside down. It was a convertible, the top was down, and people flew in all directions. Then, the car crashed flat right alongside me.
"Lord, do you want me to stop?" I asked him then. “No. Don't stop. You intercede,” was is the message I got. In my rearview mirror, I could see other cars and trucks stopping. They wouldn't need my physical presence there, but God needed me to be an intercessor. And so I kept on praying, praising God, praying in tongues. I was aware of raw power, rivers of living water, flowing from my innermost being directly to the throne of grace as I interceded in the spirit.
Before I was half a mile down the road, I had God's assurance that he had taken care of everything, and I went to my meeting satisfied. That was Friday. On Sunday morning, I was invited to speak at the Kent Island Methodist church near where the accident occurred. I shared my experience from the pulpit and said that if anyone present knew the outcome of the accident, I'd like to hear about it. I knew something good had taken place. Sure enough, three people came to me at the church door after the service and said they were at the scene just a few minutes after the accident happened because they lived close by. The car had blown a tire, going at high speed, and had gotten completely out of control. The people in the convertible had fallen clear of the car, and everyone had walked away from the accident! The car was demolished, but no person was injured. It was a miracle.
A car coming straight at you on a level Road does not suddenly jump straight up in the air. From straight forward motion to vertical motion is impossible unless you hit something curved to change the course. And that's what happened in that accident. The car's course was changed when it hit a curved surface – the curved circle of light that prevented darkness from entering to annihilate a king's kid. There were millions of foot-pounds of energy involved, but that's nothing for an angel of the Lord. Hallelujah! When we call upon the king, he works supernaturally to deliver us from trouble.”
I always get emotional when I hear stories like this because I am reminded of how much God loves us and that He will go to any lengths to save us. I also get emotional because of how touching it is. These people all seemed to be headed for death. Their lives could have been over in an instant. And they weren’t. Satan meant for that tire to go out and for the situation to end badly. If Satan had gotten his way, those people would have died. You and I don’t know the state of their souls, but even if they went to heaven, what about the effects of their deaths on those still living? Unexpected death of a loved one often brings with it anger. It can cause some to question God and why He would let such an awful thing happen. Some people get angry with God and they don’t let it go. However, it says in Genesis 50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” God takes Satan’s plan for evil and uses it for good.
Harold Hill has sold over 1,000,000 copies of his book. He has also probably told that story to thousands of people or more. Instead of this story ending in tragedy, it is a story that has probably given people faith that they did not have before and definitely strengthened the faith of those who were already believers. How incredible is that?
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we thank you for your protection. We thank you for all the miracles you make happen every single day, the big and the small ones. Lord, we thank you for all the times you protected us from something that we didn’t even know about. Lord, we ask that you help us learn to make a habit of praising you so that if we are in a situation like Harold was, we will be prepared. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus! I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in September 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Continue to be humble before me, letting my power be your strength. Letting my power and my wisdom guide you and guard you. The victory is mine. And I give it to you. I raise a victorious people. Keep your eyes on me, for I am the victory.”