January 18, 2017
God is AMAZING!
This morning I was on the CTA Blue Line (train in Chicago) reading Proverbs 12. When I read verse 16, my initial thought was about President-Elect Trump and hit itchy Twitter finger. As I kept reading the chapter I asked God what He was saying to ME for ME, and I kept being drawn back to verse 16. I closed my phone and the man sitting directly in front of me, clearly high & volatile, who had been cursing everyone on the train while talking to himself, heard the sound my phone makes when I lock the screen and thought I had taken his photo. He proceeded to loudly say to himself how bad he wanted to punch me (but he used several adjectives in the process).
He did not ask me any questions and I was not going to offer an explanation or apology for the sound my phone made. He stood up and walked away while staring and cursing at me the whole time. Yes, I am saved, but I also grew up on the West Side of Chicago and I know when something can potentially jump off. So as I prayed, I kept my eyes on him and put my gloves back on because I was ready should the man decide to act on his thoughts. I had sized him up and looked for any visible weapons and that is when the young man next to me asked me to let him out of the row so he could exit the train. Then my phone rang and I glanced down at it. Each time my attention was taken off of the man, he would walk further away. I never saw him exit the train, but when I looked up from my phone, he was gone.
As I thought about what did happen and even what did not happen on the train, God brought me back AGAIN to Proverbs 12:16. That man did not touch me and while I was prepared to do so, I did not need to touch him; but I can pray for him. The next time he does something like that, it may not be with someone who will be calm, yet prepared and still pray; it may be with someone who is angry, prepared and volatile. It may not end well.
Proverbs 12:16 Fools have short fuses and explode all too quickly; the prudent quietly shrug off insults.
Thank God for giving the answer before we take the test!
YOUR TURN:
When have you seen God keep you safe in a potentially dangerous situation?