Ferrari-Taxi Accident – Divine Protection

As you get along with life and all the things that you need to do on this earth, what keeps you from being worried and paranoid about being killed or crippled or injured?

• A mindless complacency, a blind trust in human nature or living in denial?
  
• Or a genuine trust and grounded faith in God’s protection?

On the 12^th of May 2012, Ma Chi (from the People’s Republic of China) sped his Ferrari through a red light in Singapore and killed himself and two innocent people, the driver of the taxi he hit, the woman riding in the Ferrari with him. Sobering fact: You can do your best, follow the traffic laws set by the local authorities for the safety of everyone, and yet be killed by some joker behind the wheel.

And that is why we all NEED to know how to walk in God’s protection for our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

Psalm 32:7 (NIV) - You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

This is one of my favourite promises in the Bible; God protects me, and he does it with music (talk about style!). But what does it take to be able to enjoy his divine protection? Let’s take a look at the verse just before that:

Psalm 32:6 (NIV) - Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.

Living a prayerful life is what enables us to walk in God’s protection. What often hinders us from living a prayerful life?

Psalm 32:1-5 (NIV) - Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night  your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you  and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”—
and you forgave  the guilt of my sin.

Unconfessed sin hinders our prayer life and keeps us from enjoying the fullness of all God intends for our lives.

Don’t get me wrong. I firmly believe unconfessed sin does NOT affect our righteous standing before God. If we look carefully at the second verse of this psalm, it gives us a blanket pardon; God will NEVER count our sins against us. Paul quotes this in Romans 4:7-8 and specifies that this is a righteousness apart from works (Rom 4:6).

In plain English, that means NOTHING we do can revoke the righteousness God has given us.

But if we fall short, if we sin, if we transgress against the LORD, he will lay his hand upon us, as he did with David. Why? Because he loves us, he is committed to us and he will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). As our Father in heaven, he is committed to raising us up to be his sons, showing the world what he is like and worthy of bearing his name.

Hebrews 12:7-9 (NIV) - Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

Once we acknowledge our transgressions to him, humble ourselves and trust in his forgiveness, the blockage is cleared up and we can live joyful and fulfilling prayerful lives. AND hear the songs of deliverance as God protects us from trouble!

Psalm 32:8-9 (NIV) - I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,  which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

God himself tells us that there are two ways of doing things; the easy way or the hard way. Either we submit to God’s instruction, and are led by his Spirit and through the Word, thus maintaining our dignity somewhat, OR if we want to be as stubborn as donkeys he will treat us like donkeys. We’ll go through life yanked around by the bit in our mouths and bridle on our heads.  

Psalm 32:10 (NIV) - Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.

If you trust God, you will obey him, even if you don’t like what he says. I, for one, am an anti-social geek, so when the Bible talks about living in community it irks me. But since God made me and knows better than me, life is better when I do things his way, whether I like it or not. And because I started to understand that over the years he does not have to yank on the bit in my mouth that often these days and life is a lot more fun!

 

Conclusion:

To sum up what I say here, it’s a dangerous world we live in. God is fully aware of that, more than we are. And he wants to lead us away from the bad stuff and to the good. LORD, teach us how to cooperate and flow with you, so that we can all enjoy this life’s journey together!