This morning I saw an image of a garbage truck crossing the highway. The problem was that I was going fast on the highway and the truck was taking its sweet time crossing. I was sure that we were going to collide. As soon as I thought that, the image disappeared and there was no collision.

What was that all about? It certainly got my attention, especially because it happened right before I got up out of bed.

I feel like God is telling me that some of the things we worry about and might look like they are going to happen will not come to pass. Just as quickly as the image appeared, it disappeared. Something that can loom on the horizon as a potential disaster does not have to come near us.

Does not the word of God say, “A thousand may fall at our side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you”? (Psalm 91:7)

Maybe some of you need to hear this word today. There is protection over your life. The things you dread most or fear most are not going to come to pass.

Maybe you don’t want to get out of bed today. Sometimes we have this feeling that if we just stay in bed or don’t do anything and just stay where it’s safe and comfortable that no bad thing will happen to you. It immobilizes you. It paralyzes you. The enemy has succeeded.

The truth is that over 90% of the things that we imagine that could happen to us don’t happen. That doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen. They do. Sometimes it is fear due to what happened in the past that casts gloom on our present circumstances. Could it happen again? It could. Of course, it could. That doesn’t mean it will.

If we take the protection of the Lord seriously, it can give us a measure of certainty and joy in a world full of uncertainty. There is a lot of garbage that crosses in front of us. It doesn’t have to result in a collision. Sometimes things change just at the last minute when things look so gloom and somber.

Take joy, my friend, in today. Today is only here today. If you miss the joy that today offers, it is a lost opportunity. Let the garbage truck vanish into thin air. It may never come near you.

By Ralph Veenstra