I had the privilege of being a guest blogger on the SHINE girls blog (I LOVE this ministry ... if you don't follow this blog, you should!) this morning. Here is the post:
Have you ever spent time meditating on how many times God
has protected you? And I’m not talking about the times that we can’t
particularly pinpoint. I’m sure those
happen thousands of times daily, and we don’t even know it. I’m talking about times where you experienced
His hand covering you …
I think about it often.
And I think it’s good for us to reflect on His goodness and how He
protects and loves us. It draws us closer
to Him. It causes us to have a heart of
gratitude to our Heavenly Father.
So you wonder what I’m talking about? Well, there is a
spiritual battle going on that we are not always permitted to see. So many times, we get caught up in our daily
activities and busy lives. It’s often
too easy to forget that there is a spiritual war going on. Satan and his demons come to kill, steal and
destroy. (John 10:10) Evil lurks and has dominion over the earth. Yet God’s goodness overcomes! And our God has
assigned angels over us to encamp about us and combat the enemy (Psalm 91:11).
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the
shadow of the Almighty. I will say to
the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" … For
you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling
place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He
will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They
will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a
stone. – Psalm 91:1, 2, 9-12
I’m so glad to serve a God who protects us against the
enemy. While He does allow us to suffer
and go through very difficult times, even some to death, if our faith and trust
is in Him, He ultimately rescues us from the snares of death and from the
defeat of the enemy. For if our faith
and trust is in Christ Jesus, His blood shed on the cross covers us and makes a
way. Even though our flesh may die,
Christ’s sacrifice lets us be with God for all eternity! Praise the Lord!
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| My husband, James, and me |
A few years ago when Noah, my first-born, was about two, we
were swimming in my parents’ pool with my brother and his wife. James, my husband, was playing with Noah
while I was standing in the shallow end talking to everybody. We were all laughing and having a good
time. James and my brother were playing
with Noah and splashing. And I remember
they had been jumping off the diving board.
So the water in the pool was active and wavy. In the midst of all the fun and commotion, I
felt something brush over my left arm. I
glanced down to what looked like my wet hair at first, but a closer look
revealed a brown copperhead snake slithering across my arm!! Yes! A snake was
ON me! (If you know me, you know that snakes and spiders creep me out! I am
that girl who is UH-FRAID of slithery, creepy creatures.) Oh my goodness! It
gives me the creeps just thinking about it! Needless to say, you can probably
imagine my horror. I was out of that
pool fast. James said it looked like I
walked on the water. And I was worried
about everyone else, especially my little boy!! It took me several minutes to calm
down.
Well, I think it’s awful that a venomous snake was on
me. But how much more awful could it
have been had the snake bitten me or one of the other people in the pool? I
believe God’s angels were with us.
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| My four children |
And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking down
stairs or downhill on a dangerous trek where injury would be inevitable,
feeling myself about to trip and fall, and somehow I regain my footing without
falling. I remember that happening often
on campus at UGA going to and from classes.
And now that my kids’ bedrooms are upstairs, it happens even more going
down the stairs. And it may seem silly,
but I thank the Lord in the moment.
Whether under my breath or out loud, I thank the Lord that He kept my
feet from slipping.
Or what about the times when you’re in your car heading
somewhere and you are almost sideswiped by another vehicle? And you can see before your eyes, as if in
slow motion, how the hand of God or a line of angels was right with you keeping
you from harm. Those are moments that
almost take my breath away. And when I
consider the magnitude of what just took place, I’m shaken with the reality
that my God is surely right with me!
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| My sweet family of six |
Those are just a couple examples right off the top of my
head. There are so many other instances
of which I can think that God has intervened on my behalf. Some big.
Some seemingly smaller. And
that’s just in my own life. I can
reflect on stories from family and friends who have been guarded and protected
in so many situations.
Read over
and ponder the following verses for a moment:
Those
who live according to the flesh have their minds
set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what the
Spirit desires. Rom 8:5
And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil
4:7
Set
your minds on things above, not on
earthly things. Col 3:2
See a
pattern? It’s easy for our minds to be set on flesh or earthly things. We live in this world with all of its
enticements and temptations. But if we
have trusted in Jesus as our Savior, He has brought us to life in Him. Our spirits are new. And He tells us to set our minds on Him and
what the Spirit desires. God gives us
the power through Him to accomplish this.
It’s possible with Him!
I fully
believe God wants us to be aware and not forget about the spiritual battle
that’s going on around us. I challenge
you to carve out some time to just sit in God’s presence and let Him reveal the
many ways He has protected you, whether big or small. And write it down so that you can come back
to it. In reflecting on His goodness and
His power in your own life, I think it will help you remember all day long to
thank Him. And it will keep our minds sharp. It will keep us from getting foggy
and focused on ourselves and from doing things out of our own strength. I want to live and operate in God’s power! I
want to always remember that there’s a real enemy out to steal my joy and
destroy others. There’s a war for the
souls of the lost. God, activate my
faith. Help me see with my spiritual
eyes. Help me to always trust you and
believe your word. Lord, help me keep my
mind on you and your ways so that I’m not distracted by all the things in this
world vying for my attention and a real enemy that seeks to turn me away from
You. And God, help me to always give
thanks for the many ways that You rescue and protect me in this life.
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| Candid shot Photo Credit: Joy Neville Photography |
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