Abbi here, taking over blog duties while Ms. June is away. She is off this week to the Holy Land Experience in Orlando Florida for a week long tour. It was sort of last minute but she is excited and I just wanted to share a quick note for prayer for her safety while on the road. So, while she is away I will be taking care of the devotion for this week. Bare with me here folks I a no Ms. June but I will do my best. I like devotions that have stories so I think I 'll share some of mine about traveling and God's protection...
When I was a child and we went on trips my mama would always pray as she packed our bags and got everything together. I can still hear her quite voice praying for our safety as we traveled and for a "trip without incidents or accidents" that we would "go and return completely whole."
Sometime this would get on my nerves, especially if she waited to do it when we had finally gotten everybody and everything packed into the truck. I was impatient and just wanted to hear the radio. But most times I was grateful that she did it. Once she was finished I knew that God had heard her and that He knew that we were claiming a safe and happy trip and would make sure of it and I didn't worry about anything from that moment on.
And mama's prayers worked cause when it came to driving, Daddy was convinced he was Jeff Gordan and the interstate was the Darlington Motor Speedway and I know that the only reason we are all alive today is because of Mama's praying and God's divine intervention. And in all of our traveling, in the days before strict car seat and seat belt laws no less, we were never involved in a serious accident.
We never got pulled over by a police officer (that is nothing short of a miracle!) and we've only ever had one flat tire. Even the few times that we have gotten lost or turned around, something always happens or somebody comes along to put us back on track.
Now some would say that we've just had very good luck but I don't believe in luck. We had divine favor because of our (mostly Mama's) faith in God's protection. You see when you walk with God in your everyday life the word says that we are covered-covered-with His shadow. Blanketed with His presence and His protection. In fact the Word says that we live in it!
Psalm 91 says this, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1)
It's saying that because we live (practice, abide, walk, live out our day to day lives) in God's "secret place" (His word, our prayer time with Him, His presence) that we are living in His shadow, under His wing and under His constant protection.
And because we have chosen to dwell with Him under His care we are promised that we do not have to be afraid of anything. Nothing! His word says that we, "shalt not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flieth by day, nor of the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor of the destruction that layeth waste at noonday." (Psalm 91: 5-6)
And that's not all, He also promises to send angels to watch over our every step so that we would not even stumble without protection. He says, " 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." (Psalm 91: 11-12)
Amazing stuff huh? I always thought so. It amazed me that a such a huge and powerful God, the same God who created all the stars, all the waters in the seas, and the very moon itself, would go to such great lengths to keep little-un-amazing-me, safe.
But it's not without something on my part. The reason God was alwasy able to keep my family safe was becasue we walked in obedieance and trusted Him to do so. Plus, we had spent time with Him, studying His Word and learning to hear Him when He called.
We learned to start out by trusting Him and not even giving the devil a chance to get in the way, That's way Mama always started off our trips with prayer. She knew that God was always protecting us, but she just reaffirmed this truth by saying it out loud, reminding herself, us children and Satan that we knew what the truth was and that we were claiming the benefits of living in God's shadow (His unwavering protection) because the Word plainly says,
"Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation" (Psalm 91: 14-16)
God is mot a man that He should lie, and even though my mama knew this by heart and knew without a doubt that He would always protect us, she made sure to say it confess it anyway. It's a good thing to be constantly reminded of God's promises. It leaves very little room for doubt to creep in and rob you of your certainty.
That's part of the "living in the shadow of the Almighty." In order to build your faith and really live in the blessings of God's protection we have to spend time studying the Bible and finding out what God says about our safety. The best way to know, that you know, that you know what the promises are and have faith that God will come through for you is to get the word down deep on the inside.
Learn to listen for and recognize God's voice when He is talking, so many times God tries to warn us about things but because we haven't spent the time and trained ourselves to hear Him, we don't and we miss out on going in the right direction and end up in a ditch somewhere needing to be pulled out.
So it's simple, God wants His children safe. He doesn't want us hurt or scared or lost and He wants us to be able to explore this world He created for us without fear. And we can do just that! But we have to do two things:
"Live in the shadow"-Obey Him in our daily lives. And make the supreme effort to live rightously before Him.
"Know that, that we know, that we know"-spend time building our relationship with the Father, studying His word and seeking understanding so that when doubts or worries creep in we can quell them instantly"
And, "Constantly confess"-Confess the truth. Pray and claim your protection everyday, before we leave for work, go in vacation, go to school etc-remind yourself and let the devil now that you know what you've been promised and that you are standing up for it.
Now I am not saying you won't run into trouble. Flat tires and wrong turns will happen, but when we have a relationship with our heavenly Father and we trust Him enough to allow Him to come in and help us, He will make a way and everything will be alright.
Whew, I hope you have enjoyed my first stab at devotion writing. I know that I've got a ways before I catch Ms. June but I enjoyed sharing with you all.
Again please remember Ms. June as she travels and I hope you all have a wonderful week!
God bless, Abbi
Ms. June's Prayer List:
Dianne--Fibromyalgia Complete Healing
Cindy----Blood disorder Complete Healing
Cindy's Sister---MS Complete Healing
Ron and Joan E. Complete Healing and recovery
Debra A. - Cancer Super Natural Healing
Our Grandson Mickey (9) Protection for his body, soul and spirit
Our Grandson Jesse (2) Wellness, tonsils, calmness and order, sleep
My Son and "daughter" Spiritual direction, health and finance.
Our Family in Ala. Protection and health
Our Jordan Family all Around Protection and health
Our Armed Forces
Our Government-National and State
Peace and safety for Israel
Middle East
My Friend Ms Carolyn
Our Pastor and His Wife
FOLM Church Leaders
Our Leaders in Conway, SC and Horry County
If you would like more information on starting your own walk with God please click here.
And if you wish to receive a free Bible or would like to share a prayer request or praise report with Ms. June please email her at wapmsjune@gamil.com she would love to hear from you!!
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