8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.9Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.10But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
When we face the presence of evil, we can hide in the shadow of the presence of the Almighty. We are given the armor of God, so that we might deflect the weapons that the enemy would use against us. And, we have been entrusted with the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, so that might learn it, know it, speak it, and apply it, so we can effectively resist what the devil would bring against us. Our weapons, in Christ, are powerful and will bring down the strongholds that the enemy would try to erect in our minds - God's ways are right, His Word is true, and His resources are powerful.
We can rejoice in the promise of the protective hand of God, and we can look to Him as our strong fortress. Here are some selected verses from Psalm 91:
1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.2I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."
Later in the chapter, we read:14"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.15He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.16With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
Rickey Wagoner is a city bus driver in Dayton, Ohio, and last week as he was driving, about 5:20 in the morning, he began to experience electrical problems with the vehicle.
According to a report on ChristianNews.net, he was soon approached by three teenage boys. Then, according to reports, three gunshots were fired at Rickey. Two were aimed at his chest, and a third struck his leg. He attempted to wrestle the pistol from one of the teens after being shot in the chest, but the gun went off during the altercation. A second teen then stabbed him in the arm with a knife while a third kicked and punched him.
WHIO-TV reports that one of the teens allegedly instructed the other that he must ”kill the polar bear” in order to be “all the way in the club.”
After being stabbed in the arm, Wagoner pulled out an aluminum pen that he carried for self defense and jabbed the teen attacker in the leg. The three boys then began to run away, and the teen holding the pistol dropped his weapon. According to the Dayton Daily News, Wagoner began to fire after them as they ran.
Even though he had been struck in the chest twice by bullets, it was discovered that a Bible in his chest pocket saved the bus driver's life. He said, “I’ve got a book in my pocket, and I don’t think they made it through this book." The police agree - Sgt. Michael Pauley told reporters, “There was obviously some kind of intervention involved in this incident, because he probably should not be here.” Wagoner said that he had just started carrying his Bible in his pocket a week before the incident.
I think the symbolism here, while fairly obvious, would cause us to reflect on the nature of God's providence. Just regarding the incident itself, it's clear that Rickey Wagoner was under the hand of God's protection. The Scriptures are replete with references to the safety we can experience in the Lord. We can trust in the Lord as our refuge, our strength, our source of help, our strong and mighty tower. Psalm 91 says that we dwell under the shadow of His wings. We're told that angels, ministering spirits, are assigned to the people of God. We are totally Biblical when we pray for the protective hand of God.
The story of the bus driver also reminds us of the spiritually protective capability of the Word of God. In this case, his Bible was in the right place strategically to absorb or deflect the bullets aimed at his chest. We know that the enemy is firing bullets at us, attempting to bring us down and render us unproductive in our Christian life. Proverbs 4 tells us to guard our hearts, meaning our spirits, and if we cover our hearts with the Word of God, meditating on His truth, it will enable us to walk in triumph over the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6 speaks of the breastplate of righteousness - that piece of the armor covers our heart, and if we are clothed with His righteousness, it gives us the upper hand in resisting the devil. And, using God's Word, the Sword of the Spirit, as an offensive weapon, provides a powerful resource in the victory He wants us to enjoy.
Finally, God's words are spirit and life to us - The Word of God offers us the pathway to salvation, to knowing God and growing in the grace and knowledge of Him. He has powerful tools that He has made available to us. If we take God at His Word, realizing that Jesus has paid the ultimate price for our sins and has made the way for us to experience new life, then the Bible truly is a life-saving gift to us.
Rickey Wagoner's life was saved by the Bible over his heart...we can ask ourselves if we have appropriated Christ's power promised in the Bible so that we might experience His salvation.
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