Who Is God?

“When we go to Florida, angels will protect our plane”.

Olivia said that a few weeks ago. I didn’t even know she really knew what an angel was. I mean they are in some of the Bible stories we read to her but, I am pretty sure we have never told her what their roles were.

But “somehow” she knows, just like “somehow” she knew that Jesus was asleep in the storm, and that He is coming back again.

It is interesting though because we are on the plane right now and I am calm. The strange thing is, we have had a week from a layer of He–. And normally when things are out of my control, my anxiety sets in. On top of that, God has it that one of the things that can cause me to have a panic amount of anxiety is sitting right next to me.

Things were definitely out of my control.

Our car got stolen a few days ago, right out of our driveway. It was my fault. I had forgotten my keys were in the ignition. And before you think to say “oh my gosh, I would never do something like that! That was dumb”, I am going to tell you that Jesus never says “I told you so.”

I know I made a mistake, and do you know what Jesus says? “I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more”.

No, he won’t make us feel bad, He will just encourage us to learn from our mistakes.

Now that we have that covered, let’s move on.

Rude Awakenings

I found out my car had been stolen when I got a rude awakening Tuesday morning from banging on the door. I don’t open the door when there is a knocking at 6:30 am. Whoever it was didn’t stop though. So, I looked out the window and it was a cop.

Great, because a cop knocking at your door is never a good thing.

I go outside to talk to him, because my dog was going nutso, and noticed my car was not in my driveway. “Um, where is my car?”

And that was why he was there. To tell me they had found my car in the middle of South Norwalk, in the middle of a street parked haphazardly. They couldn’t figure out why anyone would just abandon a car in the middle of a road, but well they did and we found out later what probably happened. And I am thankful because I got my car back.

They towed it to my house because I was using my spare set of keys, because my original set got lost. And then the first tow guy said he couldn’t open the car. I could tell from looking in the window they basically took everything, including my daughter’s cars eat.

Who is God?

Let me tell you that this was just a big inconvenience. I know most people feel violated when this happens, and I am shocked that I didn’t. And I have anxiety. And this should have kicked it into high gear… but this didn’t. I was heartbroken to the point of tears that whoever did this, didn’t know that there was a good Father who loved Him, and had a good plan for his life.

This can only be explained by God’s work in my life. I have been reading Psalm 119 which is about delighting in God’s word, and the day my car got stolen, my eyes “accidentally” saw Psalm 118:6-7 (because I thought I was in 119).

The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.

When I read that verse, I knew it was true. It wasn’t a verse that changed my perspective but it was a reflection of the peace I felt during what was going on. It was also a reflection of what happened in the days that followed.

If He is always with me, was he there now?

The next day I got a call from a random number, and I usually don’t pick up the phone for numbers I don’t know. But I did. It was a guy asking for my husband. He told me that he had found a bunch of my stuff on the side of the road.

Say what?!?

I said where are you? I am coming to get it. It ended up being on the street of the church that I went to when I was younger.

Okay, God, I see you…

And when I got there, the majority of my stuff that had been taken, was there. Olivia’s carseat wasn’t, by my registration and title were, and some other stuff was.

Then, the guy who called me realized he knew me. He is my friend’s best friend’s husband. We have been at parties together. And when he saw a picture of one of my children, he thought to himself that if he had this stolen, he would want it back.

I told him, I don’t know if you believe in God, but this is an act of God. People don’t usually get back stolen stuff.

Now onto today on the plane. God placed me sitting right next to my greatest fear. But this is what I will say. He had basically walked into the airport with us, went through check-in with us, and was the kindest man.

This man laughed when he realized we were sitting next to each other because we had smiled through our masks as we had gone through the check-in process. He even took the time to draw Olivia an elephant. I made sure to thank him for his kindness.

So what about you?

Someone said to me this week I want what you have. She saw that there was some kind of protection on my life. She probably couldn’t pinpoint that it was God, and this wasn’t the first time someone has said something similar to us.

And maybe that is you. If it is, I want to tell you that the same truth that guides my life can guide your life too. The One that guides and guards my life is God, He is good, and He sent His son Jesus to die for your sins so that you can have eternal life, if you believe in Him. God is our helper, our redeemer, our protection, and our friend. He is our shelter, and strong tower, our peace and strength in our weakness. And He will command His angels to guard you carefully.

If you would like to follow the One who will guide and guard your life, you can say this prayer: God I see who you are, and I want to follow you with all I have. My life is in your hands. Teach me your ways, so that I can see who you are. I believe that you sent your only Son to redeem my life. I believe that. And it is in His name I pray. Amen.

If this is you, I want to encourage you to get a Bible and begin to read His Word, which was written for you. If you don’t know where to begin a great place to begin reading is either a gospel (My favorite gospel is Luke). Then look for a Bible-believing church to get connected in.