Caught in His Arms

This has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for us. It all started last Tuesday afternoon. Upon my return home to the house we rent, I found a huge eviction notice stuck to the front door. We were planning on leaving to move closer to the church, but I was unprepared for what I saw on that notice. It said we had 24 hours to get our stuff cleaned out of the house! I hadn't seen any notice, or gotten anything in the mail, yet we had a day to move. Talk about pressure!

A torrent of emotions washed over me. I experienced everything from fear to saddness to laughter. Mostly fear and saddness. I spent what seemed like hours on the phone with the Sheriff's office, the courts, and our pastor. We had a sleepless night or preparations for a sudden move, and the next morning I drove to Bartow to the circuit court to file an emergency stay of eviction. It was an unnerving day, to say the least. I eventually got the good news that the bank now owning the house gave us through the end of the month to find another home. That news alone brought me to tears of joy. All the torment of the past 24 hours finally let off. To say I was pleased would be a gross understatement.

To compound the matter, I had to deal with our minvan that was being serviced. It's fixed now, but then I had to spend my time looking for a new home. Well, that day has arrived. I got word yesterday that we were approved for a rental in Lakeland, and can start moving in Dec. 19th. We are excited!

But, what this whole ordeal has reminded of is that, though life may drop me, Jesus is always there to catch me. The whole time that I panicked and worried and cried, he was there. His hand was with me even when He seemed a million miles away. Those around told me that. My wife told me that. Somewhere deep down, I'm sure I heard the Lord Himself tell me that. But fear gripped me, and that was all I seemed to be able to process. But praise the Lord, He took me through that fire!

I didn't have a scripture in mind when I started blogging this, but now I do. Check out what Isaiah said-

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."


God's people somehow and someway must have been dealing with a situation they felt they could not escape. I don't know the circumstances, but I love God's answer. No matter what the trial, no matter what the problem, if God is for us, who can be against us? What circumstance is bigger that Him?

I'm glad on this side of the trial to have gone through it. I'm thankful that God used a bad situation and walked us through it. I don't ever want to experience that again, but I learned how faithful God really is thorugh this. I think that was what Paul the Apostle was getting at when he said to "give thanks in all circumstances". And the Lord has shown us again and again that he is with us. I've been blessed with a new home. God has provided for us financially just this week in ways I never expected.

I don't know who this is for today. It certainly isn't my best writing. Maybe it was just for me, but if you are blessed by this reminder today, pass it on to someone else.

God bless!