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June
19, 2006
"Signed, Sealed and Delivered"
Micca Monda Campbell
Director of Outreach, Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member
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Key
Verse:
2 Timothy 4:17b-18, "And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!" (NKJ)
Devotion:
I could hear my youngest son Parker and his friend Dan shooting hoops in the driveway through the open window while I worked upstairs. The sound of a car or truck stopping in front of the house caught my attention. I got up and looked out the window. Sure thing, a white truck was parked blocking the driveway with the engine running. The man had gotten out of his truck, while leaving its door open, and was talking with Dan. Unable to locate my son, I called from the window, "Hey, Dan! Where's Parker?"
"He's over there," Dan shouted back, pointing to the top of the driveway. As I occupied Dan in conversation, I heard the man say, "thanks." Then he returned to his truck and drove off. I watched from the window until he was a good distance away, and then I ran down the stairs and out the back door to check on the boys.
We live in a rural valley surrounded by green hills. A rippling creek accompanies the winding country road that leads to our ranch-style home. Often people stop at our corner lot because they are lost. I suspected the man was looking for directions to find his way back to the main road. Instead, he was looking for his dog, according to the boys.
"So why did he get out of his truck?" I asked. "I dunno," the boys answered, unconcerned as they dribbled the basketball around me as if I wasn't there. I stood motionless in deep thought, staring off in the direction I had last seen the truck as the boys played. Then the man suddenly appeared again, driving his truck slowly back down the street towards us.
He had his window down, calling for his dog. When he passed our driveway, he looked at me and nodded his head, but he didn't stop to inquire if I had seen his dog. That seemed strange to me. If he was really concerned about his missing dog, why didn't he ask if I had seen him? It just didn't feel right. I decided to discuss the "dangers" of the situation with the boys.
Pretending to be the referee, I gave a whistle and called for time-out. The boys and I sat off court and devised a game plan about not talking to strangers.
That evening, the ten o'clock news released a warning about a man in a white truck who had tried to abduct a boy in our community. The reporter described a similar scene of a near abduction by someone in a white truck just an hour away from us. Cold chills ran through my body as I gasped.
"What?" my husband asked in response to my reaction. When I shared our afternoon with him, our son got another strategy lesson for safety from his dad.
I don't know if the man on the news was the same guy who stopped at our house. Nor do I know if he was actually looking for his dog. All I know is my mommy antennas went up and my spirit was uneasy. It's a good thing that man moved on because "mama bear" isn't nice when she comes out to protect her cubs!
The next morning as I was thanking God for protecting my son and his friend, I wondered how many times we are unaware how God delivers us from evil. The boys never knew there was any danger. They were playing under my care. They had no worries, just faith that I would protect them. That kind of trust gave the boys freedom to run, jump and shoot hoops without concern.
Whether we realize it or not, our enemy Satan is like a roaring lion out to devour us, his prey. However, under the care of our heavenly Father, we do not need to fear. We can live in freedom, too, when we trust that our God is standing guard as our great Protector.
Satan has many tactics of destruction. Smutty-face, as I often call him, may be trying to use your co-worker or your overbearing boss to hold you hostage to feelings of resentment or jealousy that will eventually lead to your ruin. Perhaps his tool of destruction is the pain of a wayward child or a rocky marriage that's keeping you from drawing near to God. It could be anger, depression or self-pity that the enemy is using to seduce you away from your peace of mind. These things may tempt you, and they may put fear in your heart, but they can't steal you away from the Lord.
As children of God, we stand on the promises that we will be preserved. Nothing can snatch us from our Father's hand. It's a closed deal that nothing or no one can break, not even Smutty-face. Our contract with God, based on faith that Christ delivers us from sin and evil, is a covenant signed in the Lamb's Book of Life and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
I wonder how many times each day our heavenly Father is working against the evil one on our behalf, and we have no idea about it. Thankfully, it's more than we know.
My
Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord, my heart is filled and overflowing with gratitude and love. Thank you for your loving protection from my enemy when I'm aware of it and when I am not. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Application
Steps:
There are many web sites like this one, www.familywatchdogs.us, where you can type in your home address to find if there are stalkers living near you. Awareness is good prevention. While we don't want to scare our children, talking with them often about the many tactics abusers use will help your child know what to do if they find themselves in such a situation.
Going Deeper
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