Caught By the Hand of God

Caught By the Hand of God
Psalms 37:23-24


It was a cold and dark winter night when the phone rang, awaking me from a peaceful sleep. The initial thought that passed though my mind was “not what?” The day leading up to this greatly sought after rest was filled with many tasks that ran from encouraging a grieving family, to sermon preparation then onto the monthly board meeting that seemed to have lasted beyond any reasonable length of time. When I finally made it to bed, sleep quickly and gratefully came.

As the phone was answered, I quickly recognized the sound of distress and fear. On the other side was the voice of Alice. Through the sound of tears and scrambled words, I heard her say, “Pastor, we need you to over here right away. Jim is threatening me and the kids again and I am afraid that he is going to hurt us.” A river of thoughts passed through my mind from, “Why me?”, “Can this wait till tomorrow?” to “Do I need to call the police?”

I splashed some water on my face and pulled myself together. As I stepped out into the cold Michigan winter night, the sleep quickly left my eyes. I did not fathom that within the next 5 minutes I would be face to face with death. I entered Jim and Alice’s humble mobile home to find Jim standing there with a handgun pointed at his wife’s face as the 3 children cowardly huddled behind her. You talk about 911 praying, I found myself doing just that. Not a large amount of words, but very sincerely crying out to God “You got to take care of this!” At that point, I did not even know if I would see my wife and children ever again. However, as I approached Jim and Alice, I sensed the very powerful company of the Spirit of God with me. I stepped in front of the gun and began to intervene in behalf of that family. After a few minutes, Alice and the children left and headed over to her family. But yet, I stood there with Jim and his gun.

I do not remember all that was said that night, but I remember very clearly the end. For the next few hours, with the gun pointing at me, I began to share with Jim the story of the wonder, amazing and freeing power of the grace of Jesus Christ. To be there was a terrifying experience though it was a very empowering. To know that I was in the hand of God that night has repeatedly brought great strength to me since then. However, the greatest awareness was by the end of that night, to know that Jim was caught by the hand of God. As the hours waned on, the loving embracing of God was being extended to Jim. To watch Jim come to the realization that God loved him is beyond words. As Jim invited Jesus into his life, was and is, one of the greatest moments in my pastoral experience. There are several more details that took place that night that adds beauty to it. And the follow-up with the family … well let’s just say it required a tremendous amount of work.

Caught in the hands of God. Wow … what a powerful and beautiful thought. As we travel down life’s pathway, both as individuals and as a church, let’s remember that the outstretched hand of God is available. He catches. He holds. He protects. He hugs. Oh the wonderful hands of our Father. Are you there?