Saturday, August 21, 2010

The Lord Will Protect You From All Evil

Yesterday morning, I received an email from my handball coach (from the national team) and he said that he and his family were at the park by their hotel out in London and they got mugged. He, of course, had all their money on him... credit cards... cell phone... etc., but not passports, so basically, they were having trouble leaving the country because they had to pay for the hotel but had nothing to pay with. He was born in Europe, so it wasn't surprising that he was out there. Their plane was leaving in like 2 hrs, and I really didn't want to loan him $1,800, but was reminded of the verse in Psalm 112:5, "It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgement."

I told God that it is His money and that I would go ahead and do it. I asked my coach to call me really quick... as I was headed out to work at that very moment. He said he couldn't call until he got to the airport. So, I tried to send him the money via westernunion or whatever it is. It failed for some reason. So, I told him... hey, sorry, but it didn't work and I'm at work... am the only one in the office at the moment and I just can't leave right now. (I usually don't check my normal email at work, but made an exception for this). He replied asking if I could perhaps send someone to do it for me.

So, after some more people got into the office... and thinking of James 2:16, "And one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what is that?". I got permission to leave for a bit. I probably would have just not done it expect for the fact that I said I would pray for him... so I kind of locked myself in. haha Anyway, went to print his email, and the printer failed. Ended up having to print to a different printer. At this point, with everything not working, I was sensing... that perhaps it's not God's will for me to do this!

I called mom (should have done that way sooner), asked her to call the handball office and check into it... and I went to the bank to check some things with them. Both came to the conclusion that it indeed was a scam. I have seen these things many times before, but it is always from a junk email address... this was actually from his real address with his real signature. It annoyed me greatly that he couldn't call me, and looking back, I was pretty unwise, but so thankful for His grace and protection. I'm reminded of Psalm 121...
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.
I am so thankful! :)

8 comments:

Nicole Hearn said...

Praise the Lord, Daniel! Our family frequently thanks God for your faithfulness and prompting of His will....maybe that works both ways; where He initially prompted you to share your goods....and then where He saw to it that you would trust him, before asking you to research the matter fully. Thanks for being a great example to the Hearns!

Hannah Marie said...

Absolutely amazing story! He definitely not only tested your heart, but also showed that He would protect you! This post both blessed me and challenged me to be willing to serve and give back to Him, with absolutely no questions asked, letting Him take and do with it what He wishes. Thanks, Daniel! :)

Mark Hutchins said...

I've already told you this Daniel, but again, great story and post! :-)

I was hoping you'd blog it. :-)

Thanks a bunch!

Daniel Osborne said...

We are called to be good stewards of the things that God has given us... and while my heart intention was a good one, I was not being a wise steward of it. I am thankful that He taught me these things and spared me from the consequences of it. In the future, I will definitely wait to receive a call as well as do things like... verify the location of the IP address the email came from (Nigeria in this case)... check on some information that only the other individual would know... etc. Again, I am very thankful for His grace! He truly is an incredible God.

Amber Noella said...

Amazing!

Olivia N. said...

I was just reading about this kind of scam today in Reader's Digest and how they get hold of personal info like FB accounts to message through realistically...so glad you were protected, and pray that favor and discernment continues by His grace!

Elsie Anne said...

Praise the Lord for His protection and faithfulness to those who are eager to obey Him. :)

Anonymous said...

How great is our Father's wisdom and protection in all things! What a great testimony to the Lord's faithfulness in not allowing our plans to prevail when it would be to our harm.