Salmo 91:1-2, 9-16

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone (vv. 11-12 NKJV).

It was a late-March spring in Kankakee, Illinois. My husband Ron was scheduled to represent Olivet Nazarene College (Now Olivet Nazarene University) to a church in a small town somewhere in a fairly remote part of the state. At least it seemed remote to me as we drove mile after mile past farms and large fields. He was to speak in both the morning and evening services. I went along, taking our tiny new daughter with us.

Both services went well. The college was well represented. Our first born, Vonda, was much admired, and all three of us slept well preparing to leave early on Monday morning to head back to campus. But that night plunging winter temperatures gripped Illinois. We weren’t worried. We had a little Renault with a great heater. We would be fine, we thought.  Our little car purred about a half-hour down the highway when we noticed the interior of the car was getting cool, then colder, until it was as cold on the inside as it was on the outside. I wrapped Vonda securely in her blankets and then held her inside my coat. It was a very long way back to campus and Ron and I were by now shivering with the cold.

Just up ahead we noticed a man alongside the road, hitchhiking. Ron said, “I’m going to pick him up”.

“You can’t,” I argued. “He’s a Hitchhiker. He may be dangerous. Besides it’s as cold in here as it is out there.”

But Ron felt strongly we were to stop and let him in. We apologized profusely as he climbed into the back seat, assuring him it would be a very cold ride. However, he said, “I think I can fix your heater.” He got out, and Ron raised the hood. The stranger fiddled a bit under the hood, slammed it back down, and got back into the back seat as welcome heat issued into the car. We turned to thank him, but he wasn’t there: Nor was he anywhere within eye distance. Jesus had given us an angel who was given charge over us. 

This is only one of the many times God has protected us and provided for whatever our needs. Words fail me as I remember what Jesus did for us when He willingly went to the cross. He took our sins and pain upon Himself. He empathizes as a personal God, a compassionate God who understands our individual needs; and he understands and knows us as an entire body of believers. This Lenten season, I am focusing on the reverence and the awe of who He is and my deep gratitude for the sacrifice that He endured for me. It’s a depth of love I can’t even imagine.

Autor: Ardyce Templeman

Otras lecturas de Cuaresma para hoy:

• Exodus 6:1-13
• Acts 7:35-42