Psalm 34:19 -Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
In the Baker Encyclopedia of Bible, affliction is defined as:
“Anything causing pain or distress; suffering; calamity…”
If ever there was an individual who experienced many afflictions, the apostle Paul, was the man:
*He was beaten three times with rods
*He was stoned
*He was shipwrecked three times
*He spent an entire day and night in the water
*He was always in danger as he traveled by feet
*He was troubled by both the Jews and the Gentiles
*He had the pressures of ministry on him daily
*And the list goes on…(See 2 Corinthians 11:25-28)
But in 2 Timothy 3:11, Paul echoes the truth of the words penned by the psalmist, “And out of them all the Lord delivered me.” In all that he experienced, his testimony was sure, God was and is a faithful deliverer!
Recently, I was talking with a friend about some of the amazing ways that Jesus takes care of us and I thought I would blog about it:
Years ago, I went to the mall right before closing to pick up some items needed for church the next morning. When I came out the door, it was amazingly quiet and deserted. However, I noticed a white car with four men inside. They were closer to me than I was to my car, and so as I was trying to decide what to do, all four doors opened and they started getting out. Immediately I sensed they were getting out to attack me. Before I could think, a security guard appeared at my left hand side. He said, “Let me escort you to your car!” I was so relieved, and of course I began thanking him for his timely appearance. About that same time I noticed that all the men got into the car and sped off. I turned to thank the security guard again and to tell him I was now fine, but he wasn’t there any longer. I truly believe that security guard was an angel!
She shared this story with me:
She was on a trip with a friend. She went to be with her friend’s toddler while the mom was working. One day she decided to go for a walk and someone recommended a scenic area that she might enjoy. She got to the area and noticed that it was pretty isolated and she, the baby, and two men were the only ones around. She begin to feel uneasy about the situation and just began to pray in the Spirit and worship at the top of her lungs. The men left the area, her peace was restored and she enjoyed her day. You say, nothing happened to make her feel that way but the objective was to keep “nothing” from happening!
Another friend was actually attacked. They pulled weapons out on her and she in her nervousness began to pray in the Spirit. One of the young men shouted, “My mom prays like that! I’m getting out of here!” And they fled the scene and she was shook up, but all else was fine.
I could probably share a few more such stories of miraculous interventions, but there will be other times to do so. As I have been rejoicing over His faithfulness to us, I just had to share it! Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 