Split Second
Screech.
Traveling north on IH 35, I heard the sound of a car losing control behind us.
I craned my neck to see what was going on. Were we about to get hit?
No, but we were only a split second ahead of a car that lost control, did a 360 in the middle lane, before coming to rest, untouched. Neither my husband nor I could believe the car avoided a collision.
As I traveled the same stretch of highway the next day, I thought about the spinning car. If we had left a split second later, we would have been one of those cars trying to avoid a crash. Would the result have been the same?
Then I heard, “Lisa, that was my protection.” The voice of the Holy Spirit was soft, yet clear in the moment, and I thanked God for answering my daily prayers for protection.
Psalm 91 says God is our “refuge” and our “fortress.” In The Message translation, it goes on to say,
“That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you—under them you’re perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you.”
I never leave home without praying for God’s protection over my life, and over my family.
What about you?
Do you ask the Lord to “fend off all harm” in your life, daily?
I’ve had more close calls than I’d like to count, but I believe close calls are a result of God’s protection. A close call means something disastrous did not happen, and it did not happen because it was prevented, many times supernaturally.
I also believe we don’t always know or see what we’ve been protected from. Because of my clumsiness, I think I’ve been assigned an extra guardian angel to clear the way as I walk from Point A to Point B. But I may never know to what extent God’s protection kicked in. All I can do is thank him for what I can see, as well as what I can’t see.
If you don’t already pray for God’s protection on a daily basis, I challenge you to start the discipline. If you already request his watchful care, then thank him today for your life, because we know that, without his protection, it could all be gone in a split second.