Preserve my life
according to your promise.
Preserve my life
according to your laws.
Preserve my life
according to your love.
Keep me safe from the enemy’s jaws.
You alone are able to
redeem me.
You alone have compassion
so great.
You alone can look inside
and see me.
And for your deliverance I wait.
Preserve My Life
I remember when I was a
child, we were on vacation staying with my grandmother. She and I were sleeping in the same
bedroom. I woke up during the night and
saw a man crossing the backyard, coming toward our window. I was frozen and speechless with fright; but
as he drew nearer I closed my eyes tightly and prayed silently, “Dear Jesus,
protect us!” Just as I heard him trying
to get in the window, Grandma snored deeply and loudly. The man ran away. The next morning my mother
thought I must have had a bad dream or was telling her a wild tale to get
attention until my dad came in wondering why the screen was torn away from that
window on one corner. Was it a
coincidence that Grandma snored at just the right time? I don’t believe so. I choose to believe that God answered the
prayer of a frightened child and delivered me from harm.
God
in his sovereignty does not always deliver his children from harm. If you are
not faint-hearted or weak-stomached, Read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Try to find an updated version that
includes the stories of Christians who gave their lives because of their faith
in the twentieth century. Marvel at the courage given them by the grace of
God. Remember that courage is not the
absence of fear but continuing to persevere when fear says to run and
hide. Courage stems from confidence in
the grace of God. We can have courage knowing that when we cry out to God, he
is able to deliver us. We also know that
if he chooses not to deliver us from harm on this earth, then he is taking us
home to be with him.
Not
many of us in America in the year 2003 can say that we have been persecuted or
have suffered greatly because of our faith. Some may have faced discrimination
in the job place or professors in college who delighted in making sport of
Christians in front of the entire class.
However, we have not been beaten, imprisoned, or threatened with death. God has blessed me with acquaintances from
other countries who did face this type of persecution and continued to
take a bold stand for Christ. I pray if the day comes that I am threatened with
physical harm because I follow Christ, the Lord will help me to stand firm in
him. May I have confidence that he will preserve my life (if not here, then in
heaven) and may I refuse to turn from his statutes.
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