Article November 1, 1999 Issue

Danger? God's power to the rescue

Safe in threatening situations

By Toni Tartoue Wengler

As I stood in the doorway across the room, she cocked the gun. It was pointed directly at me. Yet I was totally calm, unafraid. I felt the power and presence of God's love and had no doubt He was protecting and caring for each of us.

What had led to this confrontation? Earlier that evening, a friend and I were having dinner in a restaurant. She confided that for many months her roommate had often expressed emotionally disturbing behavior, and my friend often feared for her life. She wanted my help in asking the roommate to move. As we began eating, this roommate walked into the restaurant. She had followed my friend there. She intended to join us, but when we politely asked her to leave, her disorderly conduct became so disturbing to the guests that the police were called.

The police had a plan and insisted I take the roommate home. My friend drove home ahead of us. What struck me as a threatening and inappropriate plan became an opportunity to speak the truth boldly, denying every hostile accusation she made. I exclaimed that she did not want to hurt me or anyone, because God loves her as He loves all His children, impartially and unconditionally. He would want her to love everyone by being kind and affectionate toward His children. As I prayed, I thought of her as my sister in Christ, not an adversary.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

A David perspective on Goliath-sized problems