Oct. 22 2021

Read: Acts 16:23-40 

““For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul…” Acts 27:23-24a 

(Continued) As the angry men surrounded the young man, he began to plead with them not to kill the family. They showed him their split lips and gestured towards the house. The armed one raised his automatic rifle, leveled it at the family, and scowled at the man talking to the pastor. “Let him alone,” he barked. “We’re going to kill him too.”  

The pastor remembers little of what he said that day, other than to encourage them to believe in Jesus. He felt an impulse to drive away, yet struggled to abandon the family. He pulled out his vehicle keys and took steps toward the truck. The men seemed uncertain what to do with him, so they followed him. He felt compelled to leave, and revealed his intention to them by getting in the truck. He started it and slowly turned it around. The gunman leveled his rifle at his head, but the shot never came.  

He realized that he was abandoning the family, but it was of the Lord. As he rounded the first corner, he met a boy who had been in the fight. He urged the lad to stay away from his home.  

On arrival at the home of another member, he called the brethren to prayer for the family in danger. As the group rose from their knees, the father of the threatened family walked in the door. He told how the family had been able to escape out the back door when the pastor had unknowingly led the angry men away toward his vehicle. The family hid in the rice fields until the men came back and found the house empty and left. 

We look back and marvel at how God led. He is truly all we need. When life’s burdens come pressing in, turn to Him. He holds our lives in His hand.

~James Baer