Psalm 18:50b The Lord “shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”

[You, Lord, have proved faithful in protecting the line of David down through the ages, from Abraham to Moses, to Judah to Joseph and Mary. You brought the promised Savior at just the right time, confirming your unfailing kindness to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. You are tender to the twisted ones, Lover of the lousy, Redeemer of the rebels, Savior of your evil enemies and Shepherd of the scattered flock.

Praise be to you for your, humanly speaking, unreasonable Love, your illogical grace, your outrageous kindness, your amazing goodness–all poured out upon us day by day when we actually deserve the opposite. Glory be to you, the Great and Good God. Help us to walk in the light of these shining Truths every day.]

When we are in trouble, your unfailing kindness sustains us. This morning I thought of numerous times that you in your faithfulness preserved my life, my family, the ministry you gave me. I remember  one time on a long trip with a friend we came up behind a slow truck. I looked around it down the very straight road and saw an oncoming car a long ways away. “Plenty of room,” I said.

I stepped on the gas of my little volkswagan station wagon with the motor in the rear. It didn’t have a lot of power so it took some time the speed up enough to begin passing the truck. As I got about halfway by, I realized that the oncoming car was going way faster than the speed limit and that I wasn’t going to make it by the truck in time. I stepped on the brake planning to get back behind the truck, but instead of slowing, the weight of the engine in the rear caused the back end to sling around and I was sliding sideways down the road right in the path of the oncoming car!

I made the proper correction, but nothing happened! The oncoming car didn’t slow down and the truck didn’t pull over. Then at the last second my car swung back and slammed into the side of the truck. The oncoming car sped by on the shoulder and we all kept going! When I stopped to check the damage, there was only a dent in the passenger side door and the stationary glass on that side was broken.

Without the Lord’s faithfulness protecting me, I would certainly have been killed. Yet here I am 44 years later, still enjoying the Lord’s faithfulness. Good to remember this when other troubles appear: as He was faithful in the past, so He will be faithful in the future. “I will call upon the Lord in my day of trouble for He WILL help me.”