Corona Devo 715

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you...   ~Deuteronomy 31:8

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. ~Psalm 139:5

Not sure if you've ever heard the old story about two angels who stop by a rich guy's house for the night.  The rich guy makes them stay in the basement instead of the guest room, and he's not kind at all.  The older angel patches a hole in their basement wall for him.  When the younger angel questions it, the older angel simply says, "Things aren't always what they seem."  

The next night they stay at a poor couple's farm.  The sweet and kind farmer-couple give the angels their bed to sleep in and a nice meal from what little they have.  But when they all wake in the morning, the farmers are in tears because their only milk cow has died.  The younger angel questions it, but the older angel replies, "Things aren't always what they seem." 

Then the older angel then explains that he saw gold through the hole in the rich man's wall, but that man was so greedy that he sealed the hole.  And when they slept in the farmer couple's bed and the angel of death came for the wife, the angel gave him the cow instead.  "Things aren't always what they seem." 

This is a simple story, but it still challenges us to consider that there may be a different angle/reality/blessing than the one we are seeing right in front of us. 

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you...   ~Deuteronomy 31:8

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. ~Psalm 139:5

We took a trip this past weekend.  Some of the driving weather was nasty, but the destination, rejuvenation, and time/memories with family was delightful.  

We put some miles on the car though.  At least 24 hours of driving to and fro.  And when we got home, the kids scooted into school and a few hours later I picked up a group of after-school Bible study kids to take home.  

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you...   ~Deuteronomy 31:8

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. ~Psalm 139:5

God does go before us.

All of us, not just me and not just you, but His Word says that He hems us in: behind and before. He sees the road before us and He traverses it ahead of us. The Lord himself goes before you...   ~Deuteronomy 31:8

Did I mention that the first 4 hours (Day 1) were driven in sleet, ice and snow, and that the last 5 hours (day 5) were in a steady downpour? The roads were dangerous enough as it was, I can't imagine if we had encountered any problems.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you...   ~Deuteronomy 31:8

So when we woke up this morning to this--I (actually) cried out of gratitude for God's mercy:

The tire is completely flat.  Completely.  

When I saw the flat tire, the first thing I thought of was the angel taking the cow instead of the farmer's wife.  Explain it however you like, but if we had gotten a flat tire any other time in the past week, it would have been an out-of-town hassle or possibly deadly.  

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  ~Deuteronomy 31:8

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. ~Psalm 139:5

There was ice, snow, driving rain, wind, and standing water. There were potholes the size of Texas and long hours in the car.

But there was no flat tire on our road trip or during our "ministry carpool".

The Lord himself goes before us. Believe it.

I do believe that, but every once in a while you can't deny it. And why would we?

The God of the universe lays His hand upon us, His sons and daughters. And for the life of me I cannot imagine why? Except for His grace.

Be grateful for His grace and mercy over our lives today. He covers us in ways that we cannot ever discern because we rarely see the "whole picture". But God does. And He hems us in behind and before. He stitches us up with His love and care and provision. He goes before us in situations and He watches our back too.

I just love our God. And I've never been so grateful for a flat tire.

Blessings,

Sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com