Keyword: ahead (prep): in front of or in advance of, preceding in space, earlier

Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT 

Last week I shared with you the story of how Bob and I were rescued from a rip current in Kauai. The memory is still fresh, my heart is still tender, and I’m still discovering things through all that happened about the way God takes care of his people.

This promise–God goes AHEAD of us–is Part 2 of our story. Here’s Part 1, if you missed it.

Whenever I think about how differently our near-drowning story could have ended, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and relief. And a bit of guilt, too. Hundreds of people have drowned in rip currents–several even at that very beach. Why some people get a miracle rescue and others do not is always going to be a hard question for me.

And angels? Aren’t they supposed to have a bright or holy aura about them? I just don’t know what to think anymore. I refer to Jeff as our “angel,” but he seemed like an ordinary (yet heroic) kind of guy. He even had a beer and went back to reading his book after it was all over.

As I reflect and question and share about our experience, I’m learning that God is so much more involved, so much more powerful and creative and compassionate than I let myself imagine most of the time. Everything that happened shocked me into realizing (once again) that God is in control, and I am not.

You see, I like to worry about things quite a bit. I’m pretty good at thinking about all the things that might possibly go wrong so that I can prevent them. My kids tease me, but I know I’m not alone in this struggle with almost debilitating anxiety about keeping everyone I love safe and close. It’s my job to keep everything in control, right?

I’m learning (often the hard way) that it is actually God’s job–not mine. My worrying, my planning, and my own strength is never going to be enough. When Bob and I were in those waves that day, there was nothing I could do to save us. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I should worry about needing to be rescued from a rip current, but God knew ahead of time. He knew we were going to end up in trouble, and he prepared a rescuer in advance for us. God went to that spot before we did, and I absolutely believe that his presence was further out and deeper down in the water than we ever were.

He had everything under control and he always will.

So when we get anxious about the people we love or about all the things that might go wrong, we can remember that God is going ahead of us. He knows what is going to happen, and he knows exactly what we are going to need. This promise reminds us, too, that God will never leave us on our own.

Everything ahead of us is in his hands, and he is already there.

Dear Jesus, thank you that you are so faithful to protect me and help me no matter what comes. When I am anxious and worried about my future, please help me to remember that you go ahead of me in every situation. Amen.