I Smell Smoke!

With those words, I woke my wife at 3:28 this morning.

Now, I've tried to wake her gently, with kind words, at an appointed time on the weekends. Grabbing her shoulder and nudging her, holding a cup of freshly brewed, sweetened and creamed coffee under her nose, it takes a few seconds to register that it's actually time to come to life.

This morning, however, I smelled smoke. And I said "I smell smoke." She woke up and was out of bed before me! We started sniffing around the house. When I woke up, I smelled it by my alarm clock (set for 5:00 am). I called her back and had her sniff near there. Nothing. We took a smoke detector off the wall and put it there, but nothing tickled it to make it scream.

That whole ordeal took about five minutes. We determined that it must have been a dream and she went back to bed. After all, her alarm will go off at 4:30. She has almost another hour to sleep.

Me, I went back to bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. I got my PalmPilot and started playing Shishenso. I finally got up about 3:50 and got a cup of coffee. Then I sat down to write. After all, writing is what I love to do - especially writing about God. What does smelling smoke have to do with God? Well, before we went back to bed, we prayed. It was her suggestion. "Father in Heaven, Our Protector in times of trouble, we ask for your protection this morning. Whether the smoke was real or imagined, please protect our family. Douse the fire, or at least let us know it's real. Don't let your children be hurt by the fire."

God is our Protector. He will not necessarily protect us from all harm or illness; all of the faithful will eventually die. "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," - Hebrews 9:27, NIV says the apostle. That's it. But, in the intervening time, we can ask for protection and receive it.

Do I believe in divine protection? Even before I became a Christian, that answer was abundantly clear. I'm pretty good with a stick-shift, and have been since I was about 18. I know how to work the clutch. Very rarely do I kill the engine by popping the clutch. But one day in 1992, that happened. My light turned green and I started moving forward. I popped the clutch too fast and the engine died. Then a car came sailing through their red light across the intersection. Had I not inadvertently killed the engine, I would have been hit hard in the driver's side. Being a "CHINO" (CHristian In Name Only), I knew about divine intervention. I began to tell people about it, along with this disclaimer: "God saved me. I don't know why. He must love drunks."

God is our Protector. The psalms are full of praises for His guardianship of His people. In 2 Kings 6, Elisha and his servant saw that the city of Jerusalem was surrounded by an enemy army. His servant was frightened, but Elisha prayed that the servant's eyes would be opened to what Elisha could see. An army of angels stood between the enemy army and the city. He asked the LORD to strike the enemy blind, and it happened. He puts a shield up around us to protect us from evil and from physical harm.

Nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther penned one of Christianity's greatest hymns to the tune of a popular drinking song. It begins, "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing." Luther's conversion to Christ came from divine protection. Travelling in a terrifying thunderstorm, with lightning flashing all around, Luther bargained with God, saying that if he made it through the storm, "I shall become a monk!" He kept his promise.

I don't like the idea of bargaining with God. I don't believe that it's necessary. "Ask and it will be given to you". - Matthew 7:7, NIV Jesus didn't say, "make me a good deal and I'll see if it can be done."

Is there some terrible trial befalling you? Are you faced with an evil that you cannot defeat on your own? Ask God for help. He will see you through it. If He doesn't stop the problem, He will give you strength and peace to deal with it.