Sometimes We’re Given a Glimpse – Part II

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

Twenty minutes.  Ten minutes.  A matter of a few seconds sometimes.  I believe as God’s children, there are many times throughout our life that God puts His hand of protection on us and we’re not even aware of how He prevents injuries, sickness and even death from entering our lives.  In fact, our family prays for His hand of protection daily… before getting out of bed Bill and I pray that prayer over our family (immediate and extended), we pray it as we begin driving around as we did that morning before heading to our friends’ house, and we thank Him multiple times for His hand of protection that has shielded us from accidents, injuries or sickness.

Usually I go about my day thankful that God is protecting me but not giving it much thought.  Then something like what occurred on that relaxing Sunday morning happens and God reminds me that even when I can’t see what He’s doing, He’s taking care of us.

If God is willing to protect us from a herd of deer smashing through our car window on a random January night or a man recklessly, purposefully speeding through an intersection on a Sunday morning in the summer, how much more is He willing to take care of us through other trials we might face in life – loss of finances, loss of employment, death of a child, sickness, strained family relationships?

You might be asking me, though – what about the people who were involved in the accident?  What about them?  Why didn’t He protect them?  I believe He did protect them. Three cars total were involved in the crash.  The car who purposefully sped through the intersection directly hitting a mother and five-year-old daughter, causing a chain reaction of her car careening into a third. I believe that while the third car itself was damaged, the people walked away relatively unharmed.  The mother of the car the speeding driver hit?  She suffered minor injuries and was resting at home comfortably 24-48 hours afterward.  The child?  Not a scratch on her.  My first thought was that God had sent an angel to cushion her impact.

Just four days’ prior, a co-worker emailed me to say her husband had been in a tragic car accident and while he was okay (injured but not fatally) their car was totaled.  Why, you may ask, were we prevented from being hit and these others weren’t?

I can’t answer that question.  I do know, though, that had we been involved in the accident, our prayer would have been for God to use it for His glory. I think, this particular time, He lifted the veil for me to see Him working behind the scenes as reassurance that He is working behind the scenes in our lives. We are facing some issues presently in our life and I believe God wanted to remind me He has each detail under control.  And for that reason, I’m so grateful He sometimes allows the veil to lift, giving peace that we can trust Him to work behind the scenes even when we can’t always see the results right away.

© Cheri Swalwell 2017