Stay Close...

 This morning I was busy doing housework and Johan was working outside with some of the children. I put Lydia (our five year old daughter with Down Syndrome) outside in the sandpit to play. Sometime later, I noticed one of our neighbors out the kitchen window. I presumed he had come to talk to Johan about our chickens, as he had kept an eye on them while we were away for Christmas. I also saw Lydia standing by him and I thought, 'She's not in the sandpit anymore, I better check he shut the gate.' I checked the gate out the lounge window and it was shut.

I was horrified when one of the children came inside and told me that our neighbor had seen Lydia down the road and he had brought her back for us! Oops, for once I had forgotten to check that the gate was shut before I let Lydia play outside. 

As I drank a cup of tea, I thought about how oblivious Lydia is to danger. She had no idea what danger she put herself in when she walked out the gate. She could have wandered onto the road and got run over. She could have been hit by a car backing out of a driveway and so on. Yet she has no idea!

Then I thought, 'I wonder if I'm just as oblivious to danger too.'

The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Also in Proverbs 18:9 it says, 'The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.'

Just as our fenced in yard is a safe place for Lydia, the guidelines and principles we find in the Bible are a safe place for us. They are all given to us for our good. If we live by them, we can save ourselves so much trouble.

But me and my husband are also a safe place for Lydia. It is fine for her to go for a walk down the road if we are with her. It is safe for her to cross the road when she is holding our hands. If she stays close to us, she is safe just about anywhere.

God is also our safe place. He is our strong tower. I don't mean safe as in keeping us from any physical danger. But safe, as in keeping us safe from Satan and safe from sin. Sin is so dangerous. It can ruin our life, our reputation, our effectiveness,
our future opportunities, our purity, and our relationships. Sin can make us do things we'll regret for the rest of our life. Sin takes us farther than we want to go and it costs more than we want to pay. We have no idea of the danger!

I challenge you as you start a New Year—Stay very close to God! Make time every day to read your Bible and pray. Think about how what you have read applies to your life and then live it. Ask God for wisdom before you make decisions. Follow the guidelines and principles that God has given us in the Bible. Then you will also be safe!

You can watch the video version here!