What makes you feel safe?
-When you drive down the road what keeps you from having a wreck?
-When you sleep at night what keeps burglars from robbing your home?
-When you come out to the grocery store late at night who is keeping someone from coming up and harming you or taking you off?
Some people would say it’s the police, it’s the alarm system, the guns that they have, or even the brand of car that they have. I look at it in another way though.
I’ve been in Africa for three months and my team and I have been in some really sketchy places. We have been in Johannesburg several times and it known as the most dangerous city in Africa. We have been in Cape Town in a city called “Elisis River” and its nick name is “Chicago” because of the crime that happens there. There was even a dead body found around the corner from where we lived at. Now this was very alarming to us but it didn’t even seem to bother the people in the community, because stuff like that happens all the time there.
My team and three other teams took the train to Cape Town and we were in 3rd class with pretty much everyone else and their mama. THIS WAS A 30HR. TRAIN RIDE. As the night fell the people on the train began to drink and untimely get drunk. This seems to be a normal occurrence because the train attendances never turned the lights off, so people could watch their things throughout the night. So all night drunk people coming by trying to talk to me and even one that came by and sat on my feet while I was sleeping.
On our way back from Cape Town we rode the same train, but this time it was different because we had police on the train and we even had a cart pretty much to ourselves. So before the train takes off we prayed that the Holy Spirit would come and guard the train. So some hours pasted and the officers that were on the train came and started talking to us. They were really interested in getting to know us and why were in South Africa. I thought that they would leave us as the night went on but they didn’t. They watched over us until 5:00 am in the morning, allowing our guys to sleep through the night. I talked to one of the officers named Calvin and I asked him why they were sticking around with us and he said they were doing crime prevention. I thanked him because I really felt safe with them around and then the conversation changed. Calvin said, “No thank you, it’s a blessing to be able to protect you guys because you all are doing a good thing here in Africa and around the world”.
I immediately got what God was trying to tell me and it’s funny that I had been missing it. I didn’t feel safe because the officers were there, I felt safe because God had sent the Holy Spirit. We didn’t hire any body guards, or even the officers, but God had hired them.
The bible says that if we do the will of God he will protect us. The race has just begun but the Holy Spirit is already doing a great work. Everything and everyone will fail us but God will never ever fail us or forget his promise. All we have to do is have faith.
