My mother was a widow. Determined to raise us well, she gave my two sisters and me the best, most exciting childhood, in spite of the fact that we were missing a man in the house. She was a curious blend of adventurous and fun-loving, yet almost phobic about some things.
I remember one summer vacation in the early 60s. Mom drove us in the family car all the way from Eau Claire, WI to Clearwater, FL to visit our granddad. No interstates. Only two-lane highways and Burma-Shave signs all the way. Our trip took us through Tennessee and included a couple nights’ stay in a remote cabin in the Smokies. Arriving at the cabin late at night meant that Mom had to drive the winding mountain roads in the dark. As she was exceedingly nervous about high altitudes, just the thought of driving in the mountains scared her to death. But, that night, it was dark and foggy, so she didn’t mind it much.
However, in the clear morning light, we saw that our cabin was perched on a mountaintop. The roads back then didn’t have guardrails, proper shoulders, or adequate safety features, and the access to our cabin was like a roller coaster—without seat belts. It wasn’t too bad at night, because we only saw what was illuminated in the headlights—we couldn’t SEE the dangers beyond. But in the light of day, Mom was terrified. She declared, “If I’d seen the sheer drop-offs, on BOTH sides of that road … there’s no way I would’ve stayed in that cabin!”
The LORD protected us from what we couldn’t see—what we didn’t even know. Even now, if we could SEE all the dangers that lurk in the darkness—all the things that God protects us from seeing every day—how would our life choices change? How many times have we stopped to thank God for what we COULDN’T see? For what DIDN’T happen, but easily COULD have?
- The illnesses we never picked up—the deadly diagnoses we never received—the surgeries and therapies we never needed.
- The serious accidents we didn’t have even when we weren’t driving defensively or responsibly.
- The catastrophes our family never had—the tragedies and natural disasters we never endured, the devastating losses we never suffered.
Think about it. We mindlessly enjoy:
- The family times punctuated by laughter and loving words—not arguments, accusations, and vitriol.
- The lifelong friendships enjoyed but never broken—the relationships not severed by death or divorce.
- The unexplained favor that God gave us in the eyes of others that we never deserved.
- The jobs we mysteriously kept through difficult times when others around us were let go.
God knows things that we do not. Consider:
- The jobs we were qualified for but didn’t get—the positions and promotions we worked hard for that were given to another—and we never knew why. But, God did.
- The stumbling blocks that Jesus removed from our path before us, which we never even saw.
- The friends we had, and lost. We thought they rejected us, but it was actually Jesus who separated us. He was protecting us.
- The bullets we dodged, the darts and missiles launched at us from the enemy’s hand that the “iron dome” of God’s mercy never let near us. We never even KNEW about it.
- The glittering temptation that would have distracted our attention, destroyed our focus, stolen our time, and led us away from the right path—but somehow we walked right by it.
- The addictions we never got into, the harmful habits that never ensnared us, the money that we never wasted, the destruction to our life and family that we never experienced.
- The times we reached a fork in the road and made a blind choice—and it turned out to be the best choice we ever made in our lives. We never saw the end of the other path—where it may have led. What might have been. The dangers, the briars, the cliffs, the obstacles, the DEAD END. Never saw it. God directed us down the right road at the right time for the right purpose.
Our spectrum of visability is so narrow. There’s so many things we cannot see of God’s daily protection and provision. Selah.
“He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers … He will cover you with his wings.” (Psalms 91:3-4 GNBUK)
Right NOW is the perfect moment to be thankful for, not what God has DONE for you, but what He has KEPT from you … the things that you cannot see.
(Part 1 of 2)
