God's Protection

Psalm 22:14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted in the midst of me.

Psalm 56:3
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.

Have you ever been really afraid? I mean really, really afraid. So afraid that it seemed like everything inside you just turned to water? That's how the Psalmist felt when he wrote in Psalm 22:14, "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it has melted in the midst of me."

When I think of being really afraid, that afraid, I remember a time when my husband and I were living in the Republic of Zaire, right in the middle of Africa. It was back in the 1970's. We were young then and had just arrived on the mission field, and so much of what was going on around us was really unknown to us. We just did not understand all of their culture. One evening, shortly after we arrived, we were in bed, and of course it was very dark out because there were not even streetlights in the little village where we lived. We could hear the Africans outside pounding their drums, making lots and lots of noise. We could tell they were walking as we listened, because the longer we waited, the closer the sounds got, the louder they got, and the wilder they sounded. It was really scary! I felt like everything inside of me was turning to wax, or to water. As I began to pray, I remembered a verse that I had learned way back when I was just 3 years old. Psalm 56:3, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You."

That was a powerful verse that had carried me through a lot, and I remembered it that night. My heart was pounding so fast as the voices got louder and louder. It was not long until we jumped up and went over to a missionary friend's house next door. We asked him what was going on, and he said, "Oh, they're celebrating! They won their soccer game."

You could imagine how foolish I felt. I thought they were coming to take me away or do something terrible, and all they were doing was celebrating because their team had won a soccer game. That fear was very real to me and so was my prayer to God. That day I was not really in danger - I did not know it, but I was not. But many other times I have been in danger or in tough spots, and I have prayed to God and thought, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You."

Friend, if you are going through a rough time, will you call on God and ask Him to help you through that rough time? Will you trust Him to help you through those difficult places? In all of your fear, He will be there to help you. I do not know how He will find a way out, but I know He will be by your side to encourage you and give you His peace.

By Dr. Ann Shorb

Find out more about Christian counseling.

God's Healing
God's Guidance for Our Lives
God's Consistency Amidst the Changing World
Love One Another as Christ Loves Us
Our Refuge

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