Survive the Pandemic

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Psalm 91:1-2 

Good News Translation (GNT)

91 Whoever goes to the Lord for safety,
    whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
² can say to him,
    “You are my defender and protector.
    You are my God; in you I trust.”

We are confined to our own homes. We are not to visit our friends or our kids. The only reason to leave the safety of our own home is to buy necessary groceries or for medical attention. I have arranged to consult my oncologist by phone.

The number of known cases of COVID-19 in California is over 1,500 as I write this. The number of deaths in California attributed to it is 27, and in Riverside County it is 5. Each number is rising—Exponentially. The uncle of a friend and neighbor has tested positive. We are voluntarily confining ourselves to isolation in the hopes of starving the virus. Will it work?

Are we worried? No, not really. Will we get it? Only the Good Lord knows. He has given us this mighty Psalm 91. I urge you to read it again. I know you have lost count of how many times you have read it. This time read it and put yourself in as the recipient of these great promises.

Verse 3: He will keep you safe from all deadly diseases.

Verses 4&5: You need not fear the plagues that strike in the dark.

Verse 7: 1,000 may fall at your side and 10,000 fall all around you, you will not be harmed.

Verse 10: No disaster will strike you.

Verse 11: God will put His angels in charge of you.

Verse 12: They will hold you up with their hands.

Verse 14: God will save you who love Him.

Verse 15: When you call on Me, I will answer you.

Verse 16: I will reward you with long life.

These promises are written for you. Go to the Lord for safety. Remain under the protection of the Almighty. You may get tired of staying under that protection—stay there anyway. Don’t do anything brash or stupid—just stay there. Have faith that what God has promised, He will do. His promises are trustworthy. Let others do the worrying. Should He decide that now is my time, I still trust His protection.

We spread out this psalm daily to You, Lord. We claim it because we believe that You mean exactly what You say here! 

  

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[i] https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-91-1_Inspirational_Image/

A Shield Around Us

[i]

Psalm 3:3 

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

³ But You, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

It had been a long day in Lusaka, Zambia. I was driving the Ford Taunus south on the Great North Road towards Monze, with my wife and my mom and dad aboard. There was no one else on the road as we started into a long gentle curve. Then coming towards us we saw another car. It was obviously drifting onto our side of the road. I slowed down and moved over onto the dirt shoulder, and still he came over towards us. I yelled at him, “Get over on your own side of the road.” A lot of good that did! He couldn’t hear me.  Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, but there was nothing I could do. He struck the side of the car and pushed us down the embankment and into the ditch on our side of the road. The car rolled over onto it’s top. The sideways push stuffed grass inside the tires.

The four of us got out of the car and stood wondering what to do. The sleepy driver of the other car drove on, or tried to. However, he had damaged his car sufficiently to stall the engine. He got out and shuffled over to us. We were clustered in a bunch staring at the car with its four still-turning wheels pointing skywards. He stood there looking at this wreck and said, “My car won’t run. There’s nothing wrong with yours. Why don’t you drive down and get some help for me?” His breath reeked of alcohol.

We flagged down a car that was going south, and the driver took my mom and my wife with him into the next town. He, too, smelt of alcohol, and Mom rode in semi-terror that he would also have a wreck. They sent a tow truck back to fetch Dad and me. We felt extremely thankful to the Lord that He was truly a shield around us. This was before cars had seatbelts, yet no one complained of injury. My eyes were scratchy, and we wondered if some glass fragments from the smashed windshield had gotten in them. The hospital kept me overnight for observation. Fortunately, my eyes were fine. Although the car was a complete write off, we were all safe.

Thank You Lord, that you indeed build a shield around us, even when we don’t deserve it.

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[i] http://www.car-accidents.com/2007-auto-crash-story/11-18-07-upside-down-crash.html

You Will Trample Snakes

[i]

[ii]

Psalm 91:13 

Good News Translation (GNT)

¹³ You will trample down lions and snakes,
    fierce lions and poisonous snakes.

On a pleasant Saturday afternoon in the late 1970s I took the family walking on the slopes of Helderberg Mountain. We were on a logging road with a tall bank on one side and a steep downhill slope on the other. I was curious about what was on the bank, so I ran and jumped and hooked both hands on the top. Then I pulled myself up until my head came up level with the top.

There, staring me straight in the face no more than six inches from my nose was the face of a puff adder. It was looking me straight in the eye, and its tongue was frantically flicking in and out. This puff adder was fully grown, maybe three feet long and as big around as my wrist. Its bright yellow color showed it had recently shed its old skin. Puff adders can strike from any position without coiling first and have the reputation that a person or animal, once bitten, dies very quickly.

Deciding instantaneously that I had seen enough, I pushed myself back away from the bank and dropped onto the logging trail below. Although they strike extremely rapidly, they are otherwise somewhat slow and methodical. So we walked away from the spot and enjoyed the rest of our outing.

That evening we invited a bunch of science and math students to our home where we made popcorn and homemade ice cream with a hand cranked White Mountain freezer. This was a favorite Saturday night entertainment, and many students came and brought their current romantic interests. While we were talking and playing games, I mentioned my close encounter to the group. Some of them got very excited. One of them used to catch puff adders and turn them in to a place where they were milked for venom to make anti-venom serum.

The next afternoon about four or five students came to our house and then hiked up to where I had found the puff adder. One of them carried a forked stick, and another brought a hessian sack to put the snake into. We climbed the bank at a different place and then crept up on the snake. It was still lying in the same spot soaking up the sunshine. One of the boys pinned the snake down behind its head with the forked stick. Then another brought the sack up. I took one side of the sack opening while he held the other, and we brought it up to the head of the snake.

Being more careless than I should have been, I allowed my hand to get close enough to the snake’s head so that it struck at my hand even though it was still pinned down by the forked stick. I felt the edge of its mouth strike the end of my thumb. Fortunately my thumb was not quite close enough for a fang to pierce my skin. Needless to say, my thumb did not remain there for a second attack. The students and I quickly got the snake into the sack, and we hiked back home.

Thank you, Lord, for being ready to rescue me even when I’m being careless with a death dealing snake!

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[i] https://www.pinterest.cl/pin/353251164519422743/?lp=true

[ii] http://itsnature.org/ground/reptiles-land/puff-adder/

Tread on Serpents

April 25, 2017

Luke 10:19

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

[i]

Thirty or more years ago when we were searching for a home near La Sierra University, we spelled out several criteria. We wanted a home near enough for me to walk to work. It had to have four bedrooms, one for us, one for our boy and one for our girls, and one for a guest room especially for grandparents. We hoped it would have a swimming pool so we could keep an eye on what our kids and their friends were doing. We also hoped it would have access to countryside where we could walk for recreation. Of course, it also had to be in our price range.

The home we got couldn’t have matched these criteria any better. Its selling point to me was that it was situated in a little valley with desert hills on three sides. We could walk up into the hills by simply walking past three houses, and we were into the hills. During a normal year the hills turn a rich green color in the winter rains. For spring, summer and fall the hills are the color of dried grass.

Almost every day over the last 30 odd years we have walked at least some distance up into the hills, usually with a dog at our heels or galloping merrily ahead. The dog’s favorite pastime is chasing, unsuccessfully, every lizard that makes a mad dash to get out of our way. Occasionally it would be a bird, ground squirrel or rabbit. Even more rarely, there would be a lone coyote or as many as four or five them to give us a short thrill of the chase.

Sylvia and I have delighted ourselves in counting the number of species of flowers actually blooming on a particular walk. Usually we count anywhere between a dozen and two dozen species. During spring after the hills have turned brown, we find the richest number of flower species. The other day we had counted over 40 species and were at the very top of our La Sierra range and heading home down a very rough trail.

As I walked I suddenly felt something soft under my right foot, not the usual rock hard surface. In the shortest of moments, far shorter than it takes to think it, let alone write it, I shifted the weight off my right foot and made a lunge for Sylvia. I grabbed her by her waist and pushed her backwards and away. I guessed it might have been a snake I had stepped on and didn’t want her to be bitten. She thought I had lost my balance, which I have been doing since my bout with West Nile Virus, and fought to keep me upright. Neither of us fell, and I swung around to see what I had stepped on.

Right where my foot had trod a thick red western diamond backed rattlesnake was slithering slowly away from us. It hadn’t so much as tried to rattle and warn us. It had also not bitten me. I don’t know whether it had tried or not. I was wearing heavy jeans and thick leather shoes, so it might have tried but failed to penetrate to the skin. Furthermore, red western diamond backs are known to be reticent to bite unless directly attacked. But I do feel that I was under the direct protection of the Lord. In the words of Christ in the next verse:

"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Thank You, Heavenly Father!

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[i]  http://www.desertusa.com/reptiles/red-diamond-rattlesnake.html