Psalm 138:7
“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you keep me alive. You stretch out your hand against … my enemies, and you save me … “
Sometimes the Lord will give us real life, real time messages that are so startling that we can’t miss what He is saying. This happened to my husband and I one day as we were in Abbotsford picking up a fold up wagon. The incident happened so quickly that we didn’t have time to take a picture so I illustrated it here. A picture that will be imprinted in my mind for a long time.
We were leaving, after loading the wagon, in our little red Fit traveling down a typical suburban neighborhood street in Abbotsford. It could have been a street in Vancouver as there were no large woodlots, forest or even large grassy areas one would find in the country. The beautiful coastal mountains could be seen in the distance on this sunny October day. As we turned the corner, a huge 5 point buck came hurtling down the sidewalk towards us. I could see his wild frightened eyes and muscles moving under his rusty cream coat. Michael stopped the car in amazement as he danced past us and then he was gone.
Wow! What was a magnificent 5 point buck doing in the middle of a city neighborhood? Why wasn’t he in the deep forest, on mountain meadows where he was happy and comfortable? As we sat and marveled at what we had just seen, our thoughts went to some of our hunting friends who would have loved to have Mr. 5 point on their dinner table. This was hunting season! No wonder the wild fear in the eyes and swift fleeing hooves! Yet it dawned on me: this beautiful creature was safe, it is illegal to hunt in a populated area.
There have been times this 2020 year I have been feeling like this deer: wild, confused and in a place that is not my natural habitat. Enemies have been raging around me …. distancing from my children and grandchildren, lockdowns of social life in our building, fear and lies raging in the news, on social media and eventually in my mind leading to sleepless nights. Then I look to the beautiful, wild, forested mountains shining in the sun in the distance and remember the many times the Lord has protected us, even when we couldn’t see how, even though we were running and afraid. All we could see was our fears, it was not our comfortable place. When really that which could harm us was lurking in complacency under tall trees of secure taken for granted family gatherings and in open fields of natural, easy to us hospitality.
As we faithfully follow the Lord and find ourselves in an uncomfortable, challenging new place, we will find safety despite our fears. Psalm 91:15 “He shall call on Me and I will answer Him; I will be with Him in distress; I will rescue Him and honor Him.”
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