Psalm 91:10-12 – No evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. (ESV)

"Arrrgh!" I gasped, as my body gave the impression of being turned into a statue! I clung to the buggy, and was mesmerized by what I had witnessed.

Outside the primary school where Zoë attends, there is a major road. A mother, buggy, baby, and child had just walked across the Pelican crossing that is in front of the school when the red “standing man” light was showing. She had walked across the one-way dual carriageway with no thought of danger because the traffic had stopped further up the road.

As a consequence, a group of mothers saw her crossing and, it appears, believing it to be safe, followed after her, not realizing that the red man was lit, which means "Stop!"

The cars zoomed down the road towards the crossing and at first beeped with annoyance, but were forced to stop as more mothers plodded across the road with their children, chatting, oblivious to their plight.

Praise God that the drivers, seeing the families, decided to stop. I guess that they were equally as shocked as I was to see this act of recklessness. After the cars had stopped, a small two- or three-year-old toddler dawdled off the pavement and across the road some six feet behind his mother and was carelessly walking in the middle of the crossing, like a lamb before lions. I could not move.

God was definitely watching over this child and probably saved his life. So I was touched by the thought that, as Christians, we, too, are children of God, no matter what age, and we are being protected by the love, grace, and providence of God, daily. Before we step into the middle of the world today, maybe it would be good to check if it is safe to step out.

Are we heedlessly tagging along behind, or are we checking for a green light?

Prayer: Lord, thank You so much for watching over us and protecting us from those things that have raged against us, known and unknown. May we seek first Your kingdom and by grace, know Your leading to righteousness today. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Daniel 6:26b-27 – For he is the living God, enduring for ever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. (ESV)

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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