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A Close Call…

By October 12, 2017August 30th, 2022Devotional

We are in west suburban Chicago this evening. Janet is getting ready to fly out of town with her sister, Debbie, tomorrow to meet up in Williamsburg with Nancy, their youngest sibling. This is one of the traditional sister trips that they try to do each year – staying in touch with each other and maintaining the closest of relationships. The spring trip is usually in Indy, summer in Chicago and the fall trip invariably ends up in Williamsburg.

This is the first time that Janet and Debbie are flying together from Chicago. Usually, Janet leaves from Indy, Debbie from Chicago, and they meet in Charlotte for the last leg of the trip to Williamsburg. This time, they decided to fly together non-stop from Chicago to Richmond, VA and then finish the drive to Nancy’s house. That way, they don’t have to make a stop in Charlotte and it makes things much smoother once they get in the air.

But, we almost didn’t make it here today. As we left Indiana and started west on 80/94, we were in rather heavy traffic, traveling at speed, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw some nut in a large pick-up truck jerk his truck in front of us. He missed us by a very narrow margin – but he didn’t stay in our lane – he continued through our lane almost hitting the car next to us.

Thanks to the very quick reflexes of the driver next to us, who swerved and almost hit the center concrete barrier, an incredibly serious accident was averted. Janet was frozen when all this went down. Luckily, I saw it coming and was in the process of making the decision as to whether I should speed up or slow down.The car next to us actually swerved so hard it rocked back and forth before finally settling down back in the lane. The truck was still accelerating and was now several hundred yards ahead of us – still skipping from lane to lane the entire way. On reflection, I think either way we would have been hit when the car next to us caromed off the concrete barrier dividing the highway. It was a close call, to say the least.

When it was all over, we were grateful that we hadn’t been hurt. Even in a large car, we could have very possibly been seriously injured. Both of us thanked God that we were okay. Oddly, the verse for this evening is the same one I used recently – within the last several weeks. That’s because I believe that Psalm 91 is a psalm of safe passage for travelers and I often think of it when we are spared from what seems like an impossible circumstance. Today certainly qualified.

The psalmist tells us that God sends His angels to protect us so that we won’t get hurt. Now I know that this doesn’t mean that we will never suffer hardship, but it seems to me that there have been many times when we have had a guardian angel protecting us from harm. At least, Janet and I believe that for sure!

The verse for tonight is from the core verses of Psalm 91. We are told, in Psalm 91:9-12, “If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the Lord, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

My encouragement this evening is that God loves us and wants to protect us from harm. One of the ministries of the angels is to protect us, among many other responsibilities that they have. I know that for many people this is difficult to believe. We don’t know why people die, or get seriously hurt in accidents. But this is what God tells us – believe in Him and give Him the place of honor in your life. My prayer is that you will put your faith in God and His angels. And that you may experience the pure joy of knowing that you are beloved and that somebody is looking over your shoulder, working to keep you from harm. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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