Supernatural Divine Protection

It’s about 4:30 in the morning and I get up from bed to use the restroom. I stop in the upstairs hallway because I see a light on downstairs. I say to myself, “Darn, he left the light on again.” My husband has this annoying fault where he leaves the light on every time he exists a room. It drives me crazy (I won’t get into all my faults that drive him crazy, as that will make an awesome read for a future blog post….hmm, maybe not). I’m still half asleep at the top of the stairs, so I decide I’m too tired to go downstairs to turn it off. After using the restroom, I head back to bed and begin dozing off.

Not totally asleep yet, my husband jumps out of bed yelling in panic, “Woah, Woah, what was that?” In these early morning hours, seconds before he says this, we hear a cell phone ring outside our bedroom balcony door. This is a house we are renting on the economy (a dwelling that is not on a military base) while stationed in Naples, Italy. When we got here, we were told that this was considered a hardship assignment. I’m guessing it might have something to do with the poverty level in Naples. Poverty comes to an area when there’s not enough jobs because there’s not enough industry to offer good employment. With high unemployment, comes poverty; for some people, turning to theft is the answer. Naples, not only had this strike against them, but it was also shared with us, during our new-assignment orientation, that you need to watch your back because there are ‘gypsies’ from nearby countries that have migrated here and they steal for survival.

Well, whether it was ‘gypsies’ or the well-orchestrated and well connected criminal organization known as the ‘Camorra’ (one of the oldest crime groups in the Campania region that date back to the 17th century), we were victims of a home invasion! The ringing cell phone was just the beginning. My husband and I frantically get out of bed and begin to make sense of what was occurring. He looks out the balcony but doesn’t see anything. We then begin our walk downstairs because at this point we know something is not right. That light downstairs that I saw at 4:30 a.m., was not my husband being oblivious, it was the refrigerator door wide open. As we move through the house in horror, we begin to find more pieces to the puzzle……. there are food scrapes on the kitchen table, we see chewing gum stuck on a bowl, and several of our smallest electronics were missing: cell phone, VHS player, camcorder, and camera. (I realize that some young people might not know what two of these things are; they are vintage electronics that were used back in 1999). We had computers back then too but they were so big and heavy that the thieves couldn’t carry them over the protective wall that surrounded our home. If this wasn’t horrifying enough, we see a banana peel on the stairs to the bedrooms and my earrings were missing from the dresser. You heard right, it was the dresser in the bedroom where we sleep! This means they were walking around while we were sleeping. My 12-year-old son was also sleeping in a bedroom across from ours. To this day, I realize many different scenarios could have played out during this home invasion. This is why I’m sharing this story with you.

I’m not sure where you are with your walk with the Lord as you read this. As for me, I believe we were supernaturally protected. We could have woken up as they walked upstairs. Did they have a gun? Why didn’t they kill us while we slept? Why didn’t they take my son or hurt him? They could have burned the house down after the invasion to remove evidence? The fact is, after the initial blow and reality sank in of what occurred, my husband and I realized how blessed we really were. We were unharmed, still alive and my son untouched. In addition, my daughter had been at a sleep-over so wasn’t even in the house when this happened. Over the years, I have seen many times where my Savior has protected me. I have experienced divine interventions and always knew it was Him. This was one of those times.

In the collection of songs and poems written in Psalms, David writes and shares his belief that we are protected by God. He reminds us that we can go to bed without worry and arise to face a new day without fear:

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 4 I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. 6 I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

Psalm 3:3-6, NIV

I have faith in His supernatural protection; not just because I have seen it played out in my life, but there are countless stories in the Bible, that recount extraordinary events that show God’s love and protection over us. In Daniel, Chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego because they would not serve his gods or worship the golden image. He threatened them and told them if they did not fall to the ground in worship, he would immediately throw them into a blazing furnace.

They stayed strong in faith and were confident that God would show up to deliver them; they refused to worship the king’s idols and therefore got thrown into the fire. The furnace was so hot that the soldiers who threw them in died from the flames. What happens next is amazing! The king asks his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threwinto the fire?” The advisors replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” The king then said, “Look! Isee four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks likea son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:24,25, NIV)

It is sad that many people still allow themselves to live in fear because they have no knowledge of what life would be like if they allowed God to walk this journey with them. In the article, “A Psalm That Leads to 'Unhurried Serenity and Peace and Power'”, from crosswalk.com, Dr. Jim Denison states, “Our responsibility as followers of Jesus is to help others follow Jesus……, sharing God’s word and grace with all those we influence. However, we must lead first, if we want others to follow.”

We must be the example of what it looks like to trust God without doubt. We must show them God’s love for us and share testimony of our lives; share the times we have been protected divinely and supernaturally. If we don’t show them the benefits of the way we live, then how else will they want what we have? In Nehemiah 8:10, it reminds us to show others, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1-3, NIV

I will close with this incredibly insightful quote that Dr. Jim Denison, included in his article mentioned above:

“Over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of richer living which we know we are passing by. Strained by the very mad pace of our daily outer burdens, we are further strained by an inward uneasiness, because we have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.”

Thomas Kelly, monk and author

Through God’s Grace, Love, Blessings and Prayers,

Grace