When Life Bites

National parks have things that bite. We all know this. Mosquitos. Ticks. No-see-ums. Things like that. But my daughter was most terrified of the cat. She remembered it from last time.

This time, she seemed to believe it wanted to come and bite her from behind.

“Madison, I want to tell you, dear one, if the cat comes. . . see this Starbucks bag? If he runs in and tries to bite you, I will swat him. If he comes near you, he will not hurt you.”

Now, this interaction gets me thinking. If I am a pretty good mom and God is a very good God, how much more does God protect us than I watch over my daughter?  How much more would he go to any lengths to keep us safe, protected, secure, watched over, and secure?

God swats things away from us. Things we can’t even see. Things we don’t even know.

How many of us can look back at our past and say, “Wow, it is amazing I never got involved in ____. Or, by all accounts, I should be ___. Or, by the grace of God, I avoided ___?”

Jesus. That’s why. Jesus. His grace. Jesus. His covering. Jesus. His love.

“But by the grace of God I am what I am…yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” 1 Cor. 15:10

Friends, the antidote to feeling out of God’s care is recounting how much you’re in it.

I could have become an alcoholic, married to an abuser, co-dependent in every relationship, and in a job I hated. I am not.

I am a woman dependent on Jesus Christ, married to an honorable and trustworthy man of God, in a ministry role that I am blessed to be a part of.  This doesn’t mean everything is perfect, or figured out, but it means God is perfectly caring for me, on every account. Even the ones I have not yet seen in the light of His full glory.

But I believe in his glory; I don’t give up in it. The testimony of his faithfulness speaks of the very meaning of the phrase: do it again, God. And when I recount it all, I believe he will.

Why not take a look back into your past? Why not remember all the ways God has kept you and protected you? Why not stand in awe that you are what you are, because the grace of the Lord Jesus is what it is.

Prayer: God, give us a fresh view of what our life would be like without you. Give us understanding of how loving you are. Give us new vision of all the ways you’ve protected us. Keep us in your love. Help us to rest on your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Kelly’s new book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears has been called “A must read,” “Breathtakingly honest” and a “Great Toolbox to Overcome Fear.” Read it today.

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