I had written for hours and was exhausted from being inside the head of one of my main characters. He's not a nice person yet, and I don't know how he stands himself. The Wonder Dogs and I had gone outside for a break and were sitting on the patio.
When car tires crunched on gravel, both dogs were instantly alert. I assumed it was Sam, coming to walk them. After a few minutes of gravel crunching, I realized the car was coming closer to the house than our much-loved neighbor usually does. It wasn't Sam, after all.
It was the meter reader. More precisely, it was the meter reader's car with an apprentice meter reader at the wheel. Maggie was out of my lap like a bullet from a gun, barking and racing for her target. She did not like this new meter reader one bit. She barked non-stop, circling him and getting ever closer. She was so frantic that I worried she would bite him.
It was only after he finished and returned to his car that I realized how thoroughly Maggie had tried to protect me. Maggie weighs 13 pounds. The meter reader weighed at least 150 pounds. She was badly outmatched, but she never backed down. Instead, she positioned herself in between the perceived danger and her master.
If that meter reader wanted to hurt me, he would have to go through Maggie to do it.
I've pondered the ferocity of her protection the last few hours, and I'm still stunned and grateful. (Also very glad she didn't bite the meter reader.) There was nothing she wouldn't do to protect me.
The verses that sustained me through the worst time of my life are from Exodus 14. The children of Israel were trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea. They were terrified and didn't know which way to go. Either way seemed to offer certain destruction.
"But Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians who you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent." Ex 14:13, 14
The Psalmist understood this beautiful picture of going before and standing between. In Psalm 23, David wrote of the Good Shepherd's leading and watch care. He goes before. Danger must pass through Him to get to His sheep, and He is an impenetrable guard. With Goodness and Mercy following along behind, we are cocooned and sheltered from any danger.
No matter what comes our way, God is there. He is with us. He is guarding and protecting us. Will we encounter trouble? Sorrow? Grief? Yes. This is a fallen world filled with fallen and sinful people. Neither trouble, sorrow, nor grief cannot defeat us, for God Himself will turn tragedy into triumph and defeat into the kind of glorious victory we can only imagine.
He will fight for us, and we are safe. No matter what comes.
Rest in that truth today. Don't forget to pray for all those around our world who have encountered the world's trouble and are struggling with the grief of loss.
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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Grateful Heart: Worldwide Kindness, Remembering Paris, Persevering for Paris, Resisting Evil, Praying for Peace, Answered Prayers in Disguise, and Grateful Heart: Mizpah.
The most viewed post of the last week was Remembering Paris
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#Heishere #Godishere #Lordismyshepherd #hope #GoodShepherd
Super dog, Maggie! My greyhound would hide under the porch. Praise God that He never decides that the foe is too great for Him to challenge. He guards and protects us many more times than we know.
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