Do you ever wonder about all the times God has saved you from something?

I’m not talking about those situations when you felt your back was up against a wall and God answered your pleas for help.  I’m talking about those times you were about to step off a cliff and you didn’t even know it.

In studying the book of Nehemiah, I came across this story in The Wiersbe Bible Commentary:  “When Sir James Thornhill was painting the inside of the cupola of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, at one point he finished an area and stepped back to view it.  Had he gone back one step more, he would have fallen from the scaffolding and perhaps killed himself.  Seeing the situation, a friend seized one of the brushes and rubbed paint over a part of the picture.  The artist rushed forward to protect his work, and at the same time, his life was saved. “

Wiersbe draws a parallel between this story and God’s hand in the events of our life.  He suggests that when our life is not all we had thought it would be, maybe God, as the Master Artist, is “rescuing us from something far worse and preparing us for something far better.”

In Jeremiah 23:23, the Lord asks, “Am I only a God nearby, and not a God far away?”  God is both ever-present to us in a very personal way (immanent) and high above us and ruler over us (transcendent).  He’s the God of our every-day lives here on earth, as well as the God of our eternal lives.  The God who sees the path we are on, and knows the path we need to be on.  And for this we give thanks.

Lord Jesus, our Savior, help us develop deep roots of faith as we follow you, and be strengthened as we build our lives on You, so that we will be overflowing with joy and thankfulness.  In Your name we ask these things, Amen.

Photo by olaser from Getty Images Signature, used with permission by Canva.