by L. Mudrak
Guest Contributor

On and after Memorial Day, we think about those who gave their lives for our freedom, and we want to thank those who are still serving. They protect us from the harm of other nations that don’t have good intentions.

The following devotional by Ken Claar speaks of the protection our God gives us every day. We may have good days and bad days, but God is there.
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When I was young, my brother and I used to visit our grandparents. They lived in a rural area near a narrow railroad track. We used to walk along it and explore.

One day, when I was six years old, I heard a strange sound and went over into a thicket of bushes and blackberry vines to investigate. The sound was coming from a hornets’ nest. In my panic to get away, I became trapped in the spiny vines.

My brother, who was 12, rushed in and untangled me from the vines, ignoring all the stings he was getting. He freed me and took me to Grandma’s house, where I was treated for the stings. After I had been cared for, we discovered that my brother had ended up with twice as many stings as I had and still had hornets in his jacket attacking his arms.

Though my brother has since passed on, I am reminded that I still have a protector in Christ. Jesus freely went to His death to save us. And He still helps us whenever we get into a “nest of hornets” that we can’t seem to escape. Psalm 37:24 is God’s promise and our hope for those blackberry-vine days.

“Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 37:24 NIV
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Years ago, I was picking damson plums at our neighbor’s house. I managed to get stung by bees or wasps (or whatever they were). My face swelled up and I couldn’t see past my swollen cheeks, so I had to take a day off work. I looked a mess, especially since I had just gotten a perm. Yes, my hair was swollen, as well as my face!

Perhaps you feel like you’re in the middle of a hornets’ nest of problems. Your God is there for you, to take the stings of people’s words and/or actions. He loves you, and He’ll take the pain from you. Choices we make sometimes put us in harm’s way, but we always have a protector who never gives up on rescuing us.

“I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears…
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”
Psalm 34:4,7 and see the entire Psalm
Also be blessed by Psalm 91