"Protected"

 "And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him." (John 7:44 KJV)

  "Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD? Who can ever praise him enough? There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right." (Psalm 106:1-3 NLT)

 Each and every one of us have a purpose; whether you realize it or not, you have something that God is using you for, as a part of His perfect will and to further His Kingdom. If you think you are useless, as though your life has been wasted, ask Him to show you what you are meant for, and praise Him for all the good that He has done! 

 Don't ask me where that came from, I just felt someone needed to be encouraged; maybe it was just for me, because I sometimes feel so useless! As I was prayed over Sunday, this brother was mentioning all these things that could be going on in my life, those things which might have caused me to raise my hand to be prayed over. Every single thing that he said, I could agree was an issue: medical, financial, spiritual, depression; you name it, and I felt it was all pressing down on me like a giant vise, squeezing the life out of me. 

 The funny thing was, I felt comfortable back in the 'cry room' where I usually hung out. But the sound wasn't working, and I needed to sing. I took it as a sign that I needed to move out into the worship center, and really sing out load to the Lord! I didn't realize how much I missed experiencing the joy of full-on worship, having no reason to feel like I might have been a distraction to others in the room.  

 I guess the point I am trying to make, is that God is always watching over us, even when we feel alone and afraid, even in that state of mind, we are right where He wants us, in that very moment! Maybe it is hard to understand that, as we are always assured to be strong in the Lord and do not fear; but there comes a time in our lives when we need to know how vulnerable we really are and how much we actually need His protection! 

 As for this verse, Jesus had no worries about being taken, as He already knew that His time was not there yet to be apprehended. I can only say, be aware of your usefulness for the Lord, and at the same time, be prepared to for anything! Make curtain that it is all, well with your soul...

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." (Romans 12:1-5 NLT)