I can, without hesitation, declare that God has protected me from some things, and saved and delivered me from an equitable number of others. While they may appear to be similar, protecting, saving, and delivering all have different meanings, as interpreted by scripture. Protecting means never having to experience something; Saving means we have sampled, and God reaches in to pull us out; Delivering means we are in the enemy’s camp, and having dwelled there for some time, whereby God must use the fullness of his redeeming power to bring us forth. For example, as a young man, not quite 21 years old, on my way to visit my aunt and uncle, as I was driving through a particular neighborhood, I saw a young lady that appeared to be in a hurry, as if she missed the bus and was trying to get somewhere. I stopped, being several blocks from my destination and offered her a ride. I was young, well intended, and only doing what I learned was right to do. As we rode along, I asked, “where are you going?” she responded, “just up the street.” As we drove a bit further, I inquired a second time, her reply to me was, “where are you going?” I explained that I just got back in town and was going to visit my aunt and uncle (too much information). Having not caught on, the lady smiled and proceeded to asked, “do you want a date?” I was completely unaware of what she was asking me, until she asked a second time. It was then I finally realized what she was asking, and immediately said quite nervously, “oh no.” She responded, “you can let me out here.” That happened more than forty years ago, but I remember it as if it were today. That is what you call, God’s protection, because while well intended, I was naïve and completely unaware of the gravity of the circumstance posed. How is a young man or woman supposed to conquer and overcome, unless they hear our stories of triumph and battles won.
