In my daily reading today I read Psalm 37. David describes how the wicked perish, how God takes care of those who love and follow him. It's a great Psalm of hope we can cling to especially when days are rough, life is failing, there's just no joy in circumstances. One of the key themes in this Psalm is how God cares for, provides for and protects his people. David encourages us to not lose hope but keep our eyes fixed on God who truly knows us and loves us. Psalm 37:25 is a familiar verse — I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

Reading this verse my first thought was, well I can't say that's totally true because in my travels I've seen Jesus followers in other countries who have less than nothing, their kids are starving, they have no food or hope of long term stability of any kind. But as I considered what David wrote, he's giving his own personal testimony — my personal testimony might not match his exactly. Also, Solomon wrote the same types of wisdom statements in Proverbs; they're always given as absolutes. There's nothing to say there cannot be exceptions. Exceptions are not necessarily listed in these general wisdom principles.

However, the overarching idea is always true. In the big picture, God always takes care of, protects and provides for his own. We can have total assurance with no doubt. How this works in every individual's life is in God's hands, for God's purposes, at God's pleasure. Given the trials and troubles of life, at the end of the day as Psalm 118:8 says — It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. Of that there is no doubt!

In this day we live, there's uncertainty about the future with issues out there like — will there be thermonuclear war? Will the current geopolitical upheaval in the Middle East destroy the supply chain to the point of generating mass inflation, scarcity of food and necessities? Will society start to unravel? There are many other issues we could be concerned about like geological catastrophes, earthquakes, meteor showers and the like. The proliferation of AI and its possible destructive results to the job market. Or even the current US administration hinting at full disclosure of aliens and UFOs.

I know that's off the wall kind of stuff, but considering where we are these days, these are the kinds of things that could create in us doubt and worry. Yet David assures us God will protect and care for his children. This is just the truth! So many times in my life I can recount situations where God was clearly and obviously in control protecting and caring for me. As I pondered Psalm 37:25 my mind went back to several specific times in my life where I witnessed God's protection, times where nothing but God could account for the results. I'm sure you have those times in your life too!

One such example — I was praying and considering the real possibility of leaving my high paying corporate career and stepping into full time vocational ministry where, as you might suspect, the income is a bit less to say the least! I was feeling God's call but I wasn't quite convinced it was a sound move. I have to take care of my family and life obligations. I felt like God wanted me to join the New Life staff full time but I wasn't trusting he'd really come through in protecting me. I knew God loved me and all that, but I had doubts.

At the time I was working a major retailer project. A large national retailer had designed and planned to build large custom appliance store locations across the country. Retail stores selling $6,000 refrigerators, $10,000 stoves, $4,000 dishwashers, etc. — high end appliances. The store was laid out with custom designed vignettes displaying high end cabinetry, each one fitted with custom colors, finishes, counter tops of all types of exotic materials. The finest and the best! The company I was working for was building the prototype store for the chain. This was a high end visible project with lots of reputation, money, energy and focus involved. There were strict contract stipulations regarding completion dates with $15,000 per day fines attached to unfinished goals. This was an important project for both our customer and our company. The successful results would translate to lots of money and future business for everyone. As the lead designer for the project my reputation was on the line. My future employment was on the line. At the same time I was leading this project I was also considering making a step toward full time ministry — with lots of reservations about how God would take care of me!

With that as the backdrop — we were five days away from our target completion date. My construction team was completing the final punch out list with a day of work left. We'd finished the project on time, everyone would get their bonuses, and there'd be celebrating, back slapping, hand shaking, laughter and joy all around!

I'm sitting at my desk, I get a call from my construction supervisor — "hey, where's the hood range cover for the Jenn Air kitchen? That's the only part missing, we don't have it, you need to bring it over to us. Once we get that installed the project's complete!" I said I'll get back with you. The Jenn Air Kitchen had a very specialized finish that was a 4 week lead time — I couldn't get a new part with that finish for at least a month. We had one week! Mind you, without that cover the job was incomplete — we'd be charged $15,000 per day until the job was finished!

I reviewed all my paperwork, I had an intense conversation with my purchasing department, I analyzed all the receiving documents, our shipping logs and came to one stomach churning, sick feeling, panic inducing conclusion — I hadn't ordered the part in question, we hadn't paid for the part in question, we hadn't received the part in question and therefore we hadn't shipped to the jobsite the part in question! The supplier told me they may be able to expedite the part in about three weeks — I had 5 days! Without it the outcomes would be bad!

I sat at my desk and prayed. God I really need help here — I really need help. I left my office to tour the warehouse to see if I could find some pieces with the correct finish we could cobble into some sort of cover — I was going to "fix" the problem!

As I walked by one of the racks a box caught my eye. I pulled the box out, opened it up — there was the range cover in the exact finish we needed. A part not on any order document, not on any purchase requisition, not on any shipping log anywhere; not shipped to us and clearly not shipped to our customer — but there it was! I immediately drove it over to the store, gave it to my installers, they put it in place — it fit like a glove. In this custom designed kitchen where we had to make all types of adjustments to make things fit — this mystery part installed — no adjustment needed whatsoever!

I walked out to my car, sat there in stunned silence realizing what God had done. Through the years I've analyzed this scene from many angles — suffice it to say I decided if God could do this he could take care of me in full time vocational ministry. It wasn't long after that I joined the New Life staff full time and haven't looked back — that was 20 years ago!

David said I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. No matter where life goes, society goes, this world goes — can we trust God to take care of us? You bet we can!