The Hand of God!

Many years ago, late one evening, I was taking our dog Bruno out for a walk. Our street appeared deserted, and there were no street lights. As I started walking back home, a stray dog sprang up from somewhere and started barking and chasing us. As I turned around to assess the situation, Bruno, who was on a leash, walked around me, pinning me to a spot.  Bruno was barking furiously.  I froze, looking at the charging dog! Without my knowledge, I shouted, "Victory by the Blood of Jesus!"  The dog who was running at full speed towards us came to about five feet from us and stopped abruptly, and his body was in a semi-circle, as though a hand had just stopped him by his middle! Then he turned and walked away! I still have the picture of the dog's body bent around that inviable hand fresh in my mind.  It was the hand of God that saved me from the stray dog that day!

Looking back on the year that has passed by, I cannot but see the hand of God in action.  The mighty hand of God has protected us from the virus and has saved us from death and destruction. The mighty hand of God has provided for all our physical, emotional, and financial needs.  More than anything, the mighty hand of the Lord has comforted us and encouraged us during these difficult times! In the Bible, we see when the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, he was able to run ahead of King Ahab who was riding a chariot (1 Kings 18:46).  When the Philistines defeated the Israelites and carried away the Ark, we read that the hand of the LORD was against that city with very great destruction (1 Sam 5:9).  When the people had entered the Promised Land, the LORD instructed Joshua to set-up memorial stones so that  "… all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever" (Joshua 4:24). 

My friend, Jesus is mighty to save.  While we do not know what the new year holds, we do know that Jesus is holding it.  May the mighty hand of God strengthen us to face the challenges of 2021 so that the people around us may know that the hand of the LORD is with us! 

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