Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. Psalm 138: 7, NKJV.
Gracious God, how merciful You are! Even in the midst of peril from enemies Your hands will become my shield and defense. So help me to remain under the shadow of Your protection. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen and Amen.
During the time of the military regime in the Republic of Panama, under the dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, known as the Crisis people literally walked “in the midst of trouble.”
I remember a few days after the Invasion my husband and I left home to see if we could purchase some food. We had not left our home since the war began. I had become sick just the day before. Soon we were almost completely out of food and had to leave home to see if we could find a supermarket or some place where we could get some food.
What we had heard from others and seen on the television was not a pretty picture. There was looting everywhere and many people had been killed. Even though I was not feeling my best I did not want my husband to go alone for fear of what could happen; so I insisted on accompanying him. Reluctantly he consented.
As we got near to the supermarket we were planning to go to we realized that it was closed. So we went in another direction only to find that we had entered a very dangerous situation. There were paramilitary forces and looters everywhere. Some of the looters were trying to stop our car and make us take them up along with the things they had looted. We kept looking straight ahead as if we had not seen them. The paramilitary forces were pointing their rifles at the car and glaring. They looked terribly mean. I began praying for God’s protection from the depths of my heart and wishing that we had never left home.
That was one occasion when I feared for my life. That day I saw God answer our prayers in a very special way. It was the Presence of God that kept our car from being stopped. It was His right hand that spared our lives. After a while it was as if neither the looters or the paramilitary forces saw us. It was as if we were hid from their eyes. We drove as far as we could and then turned around and returned home.
What a relief we felt, and what gratitude; to know that even though we were not aware of the danger that awaited us when we left home, God knew and stretched out His arm against the wrath of the enemy and saved our lives! Praise God!