Protected for a Purpose

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A New Day eDevotional
Protected for a Purpose

Psalm 91:11, 12, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” As the seasons annually change from summer to autumn, and the leaves begin to discolor and fall, I recall an event in my years as a youth that could have ended in tragedy if not for the protection of a sovereign God. My brothers and I were playing in the woods, on the mountain behind our home. As most boys growing up in South Eastern Kentucky, we did not have a lot of material possessions to occupy our time so we “made our own fun.” On the particular day in reference, we had found living under a cliff, along the ridge of the mountain a litter of puppies that I suppose someone had abandoned there. As they scurried away from us, we gave chase. The forest floor was covered with autumn leaves and as I was nearsighted, the leaves blended in with ones that covered the ground below our path on a lower elevation. As I ran, all I remember was a step, then nothing—a blur of trees filled my vision—I had inadvertently stepped off a cliff, I was told later, the approximate height of a power pole. Seconds later I hit the ground below. Fortunately the ground was angled so instead of a sudden impact, which would have either been fatal or would have caused severe injury, I slid down the mountain, finally coming to rest near the bottom. Uninjured, I got up, brushed myself off, and resumed to play. My brothers that witnessed it said they thought I was dead due to the height of the cliff from which I had stepped. Years later I can only attribute my preservation to the unfulfilled destiny and purpose God had for my life. You see, each day, the Lord keeps us from evils that otherwise would prematurely end God’s destiny He has placed within each of us. Whether it is a delay in traffic, a sudden event that forces us into a detour, a change of schedule or as in my case, a sovereign act of protection, the Lord watches over us in order that we may finish the course He has prepared for our lives, so we can faithfully fulfill His purposes, for this and each new day.