Watch Out!

“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6

Today, I was riding the Rome Metro, and I became the unwitting mark of a pickpocket. As soon as we boarded the Metro, two nicely dressed young teenage girls began asking me questions in Italian. One was pointing to the route sign and asking about the stops. Of course, I was trying to answer them, when another lady (this one was my guardian angel) cried out, “Lady, watch your purse!” I immediately looked down at my fanny pack, and it was unzipped! (I don’t like imagining what would have happened had I ignored my guardian angel’s warning!) I looked up at the main girl who was talking with me, and when her eyes met mine, I knew she was responsible. I was stunned. I quickly checked my pack. Everything was there. (Apparently, one girl is the distractor and the other is the doer of the deed.) Meanwhile, my guardian angel got into a heated discussion with the pickpocket. I don’t know what was said as the conversation was all in Italian. The pickpocket didn’t move away from me, so my husband pushed her back and said, “Get away from her.” The girl cast a dirty look his way, and my guardian angel began another barrage of heated words. It all happened so fast, and before I could say anything we were at our stop. The pickpockets got off, as did we. We noticed they turned around and got on the car ahead of the one from which we’d just gotten off. I turned to say thank you to my angel, but the doors shut and the train was gone.

Without a doubt, I know that God protected me. This was a situation I had read about, been warned about, and took precautions for, yet I came so close to being a victim of a pickpocket. But I wasn’t. God protected me when I couldn’t protect myself.

You know, God also protects me from the sin in this world. I have read about it, been warned about it, and taken precautions against sin in my life, but sometimes I fall victim to it. He has given me clear instructions on how to avoid it, but there are occasions when I let my guard down and sin manages to get quite close to me. Like the guardian angel that warned me about the pickpocket, God’s Holy Spirit shouts, “Watch yourself, lady!” more often than I realize, protecting me from sin. Sometimes I don’t heed the warning, and I get myself into trouble. The good news is that I listen to the warnings now much more than I used to, and when I hear the Holy Spirit’s voice calling “Watch out!” to me, I pay attention!

Thank You, Lord, for protecting me today from the pickpocket, and thank You for protecting me from sin and the evil in this world. Please keep me ever listening to Your Spirit’s voice, ready to act according to Your Word and Your will.

“Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” Psalm 91:14

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Has there been a time in your life when God has sent a guardian angel your way? I’d love to hear about it!