Divine Protection

What if the outcome had been different? What if a different decision had been made? All the pieces somehow seemed to fall together. It made an amazing whole, that worked out for good, when it could have been so bad. The story ended, the curtain is draw, and the listener is left with the feeling that something greater was at work. It must have been divine intervention and protection.

This is how I felt yesterday when I had a story related to me. Robert, one of the converts and faithful men of our Bible story is a security guard at a hotel in town. As our little group walked down the road together he told about his adventure from the night before. He is the story that he told me...

It all started after dark. Robert was guarding the gate of the hotel that he was standing beside, when two men approached him on a motorcycle. They came to the gate window and began to ask him about the hotel rates. Robert told me that normally he does not stand at the gate, since most evenings people do not arrive at the hotel after dark. The guard house has a television that he is allowed to watch on night duty. Anyway, this night he was manning the gate instead of sitting in the guard house when these men approached. (His presence, keep them from entering the compound, before he knew they where present). When the men began to ask questions, he sensed something wrong and locked the gate. (Hence, the importance of his not being in the guard house, since they might have been able to open before he could lock the door). After locking the door the men continued to ask about room rates, and requested to be let inside so that they could see the rates at the front desk. By this time Robert knew that something was not right, and told them that if they wanted to get a room they could pay him or come back in the morning, but he would not open the gate until otherwise. All during this time Robert was separated from his radio and could not radio is partner at the hotel. But just as the men began to get a little ruff, his partner decided to flip on the flood lights near the gate and turned on the video cameras (remember Robert had not radioed to him, he just did this by 'chance'). When the two men saw the light, they turned around and ran to the motorcycle. As they ran to the motorcycle, the one man dropped his gun that was hidden in his coat! But, the miracle does not stop there... just as the men went to pick-up the gun a police truck, full of officers with guns, drive up! (Now to the Westerner this might not sounds like a big deal, but to someone in Ghana, this is a miracle. 1. Police normally never have guns, 2. Police walk more than ride, to be using a truck is very rare, 3. The police never show up when a criminal is around. Most of the time if a person calls needing the police, they will make sure to come the following morning, just so that they do not get hurt!) But here they where. A whole truck full of Police men and with guns too! When those guy saw them coming, they left the gun and started running. The police saw them, grabbed the motorcycle and gun, and chased after them. They must have been really moving because they lost the police, but they did not come back!

Robert told me the story with a big smile on his face. He keep saying that if he had not been at the gate he would have been killed! I told him that God is good. He knew that they where coming. As we talked, I told him that divine protection is another way God blesses those that follow Him. Most people think of blessings as things that are given to us, but many times God's blessings are the things that He prevents from happening.