For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15:3
On our way home from town the other night, we were having a nice conversation when a deer came running across the road. My hubby was driving and saw it right away. He slammed on the breaks, but I knew it wasn’t possible to miss that deer. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion, but I was oddly calm. Three words just popped out of my mouth. I said, “Just hold on.”
It looked like the deer just disappeared from view for a moment, and returned as if it came out from under the front of the vehicle. There was never a noise or a movement showing we hit it. The deer ran down over the hill to water as if nothing happened. The situation said that it had to have been hit, but there was no indication that ever occured. Everyone was fine, but we wanted to check the car. We pulled over as soon as we could, and my hubby got out to look.
He came back in shaking his head. We didn’t hit the deer. There wasn’t even a piece of hair on the bumper. We immediately offered up more praise because we knew that by all in the natural world, it was impossible to have missed that deer. We got a lesson on how everything can change in an instant. We also got to see God’s protection in action.
I have to tell you that I was listening to a message about signs that morning. When I had prayed, I asked God to send a sign about whether homeschooling was still right for us. You see, years ago, I asked God to confirm what I was feeling about school, and He did. Sure enough my hubby and I both received a sign in a particular bird we saw. We knew that we were in the will of God.
As everything was quiet that night, I was asking God if there was something that I was supposed to learn from that deer. Instead of seeing a hawk or an eagle, which I figured would’ve told me to keep homeschooling, we nearly hit a deer! Did this mean something?
God reminded me of a page from a book a copied quite some time ago, so I went to search for it. It talked about a deer being graceful, gentle, and loyal. It’s always on alert for an enemy that is waiting to attack it or its fawn. It said how we should have a gentle, quiet spirit, but at the same time we should be alert to the sin our enemy, Satan, would try to make us fall into.
It also talked about how our hearts should long to know God the same way a deer longs for water. It said that the two times a deer most wants water is when it flees from danger or when it has been in battle with an opponent. We should thirst for God’s Word, the living water, when we are in danger of sin. His word alone quenches the heart that is thirsty for God. I wish I had the name of the book to tell you.
That was really nice, but I still didn’t understand what I was to take from that for my situation. I figured that God would let me in on it when He was ready. The next day, I felt prompted to remember the words I spoke in the vehicle as everything happened. It was a little foggy, so I asked the boys to be I remembered correctly. They agreed that I said, “Just hold on!”
It all came to me at once! God didn’t need to repeat a sign that was already given. My hubby said the deer was initially going the opposite way, but turned around. I will not be asking God if I should homeschool again because He already gave me that sign! Now, I will remember the sign He gave me when we see struggles…Just. Hold. On.
Also, I need to be on alert for the enemy to attack because he never wants us in God’s will. I even need to remember that the devil will try all kinds of tactics. I need to make sure to keep returning to the living water.
As we look back at Jesus’s crucifixion, we see the biggest sign that can ever be given to us. I believe that’s why we see so many necklaces that are crosses. It helps us remember that God is close to us, loves us, gives us hope and shows us mercy.
Look for other signs of God talking to you today. A yellow butterfly keeps fluttering by as I type this…I know what that means!
