GOD’S PROTECTION
Psalm
91:1-2
He who dwells in the shelter of the
Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My
refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
It was just a few days before my oldest daughter’s second
birthday. Our young family went to the local mall to shop. IN one of the nicer
department stores, I told my wife to go to the women’s dresses while I took the
kids to the toy store. Before we could get out of the store, I ran into some
old friends and began to carry on a conversation with them while my two oldest
children played near the escalator.
This was an unusual escalator. No safety devices
surrounded it. It was simply out in the middle of the floor. My oldest daughter
began jumping toward the moving guardrail in an attempt to catch it for a “ride
up to the top”. After several unsuccessful attempts, she succeeded. And before
I knew it, she was gliding up to the second floor on the outside of the
escalator, hanging on for dear life.
By the time I saw her, she was already a third of the way
up. I stopped everything and bolted for the escalator. Taking two steps at a
time, I tried to get to her hand in order to pull her over to my side before we
reached the top. Just as I was able to reach her arm, gravity took its course.
She fell approximately twenty-five feet to a granite tile floor. Screams from
the shoppers nearby signaled that something horrible had happened. I finished
the ride to the top, and then came down the escalator to get her, thinking the
most terrible thoughts imaginable. A mountain-sized trial formed in just
seconds.
Good News! Only two sprained ankles! We knew God defended
her from deadly harm. And in the process, we saw that He’s our great protector.
In times of intense trial, we can rest safely in the shadow of his protective
care no matter where we go.
