In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: "Flee like a bird to your mountain. 2 For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. 3 When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" 4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them. 5 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. 6 On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot. 7 For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.

One day, about dusk, my wife and I were returning from Huntsville and turned off the interstate onto a county road. I noticed that a state trooper pulled in behind us and followed for some distance. I was driving a pickup truck that was about 20 years old and as usual had on my cowboy hat. My wife was driving a fairly new and fairly nice car. After following us for more than 5 miles the trooper passed me and pulled over my wife. I stopped a short distance behind his car. He talked to her for a while, got in his car and left. As we got back on the road, I called her (what would we do without cell phones) and asked what that was all about. She said that he noticed her in the nice car and that I was following her and we obviously did not look like we went together. He just wanted to make sure she was in no danger. He was doing his job of serving and protecting and this made me feel good, knowing that someone with authority was looking out for my wife and my family.

God watches over us. Many fear the fact that God sees us and knows not only our actions but our hearts as well. As long as our hearts are set on him and serving him, there is nothing to fear. He is not out to get us. He is not out to make our lives miserable. God wants to make us more like him.
That means he wants us to be pure and holy, to be kind and compassionate, to be loving and tender. It means he wants us to love that which is right and shun all that is evil. He wants us to put our complete trust in him and depend on him for our every need. While this means we must face his discipline and training and also his testing, it means that these will be carefully measured so they never exceed out ability to be victors in Jesus Christ. He will never give us a test without also giving us all the correct answers to it.

O God, thank you for protecting me. Thank you for watching me and keeping me in your tender loving care. Thank you for giving me all that I need to become like you. Thank you for your Spirit that molds my life into your likeness. Help me to never quench or grieve him in his work. In Jesus name I pray. May God bless each of us as we become more like him.