In my previous article titled, “When God Intervenes (Part 1)”, I wrote about “a trip down memory lane” with my Heavenly Father – how He brought to memory with crystal clarity times He had intervened in my childhood. In this article, I continue that journey down the timeline with Him.
My next vivid memory was much further down the timeline… My early twenties. As a young person I was very naïve, far from street smart and often oblivious to danger. I casually headed to an ATM on the street corner of an unsavoury part of town one day, completely unphased by the beggars milling about the area. As I carelessly flashed my purse and withdrew the cash I needed, I suddenly felt an ominous presence beside me…
My arms were covered in goosebumps despite the heat, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose as I realised that I was about to be mugged. A little man in a tattered white T-shirt stood beside me speaking loudly to his friends. I knew that I could not outrun him, especially in high heels and so I stood very still waiting for him to make a move…
An authoritative voice from behind suddenly spoke saying, “Step away from her!” Both the little man and I turned in surprise. A large woman – not fat, but rather tall and statuesque, well-dressed and in her mid-fifties began to berate the man who scurried away. I was still dazed, with cash and ATM card in hand, when she approached me.
Due to her height, she bent a little to speak to me. She asked if I was alright, and still in shock I could only nod. She then gave me a gentle warning of care before proceeding on her way… As I remembered this, I felt the Lord saying, “I was there…”. Because my God had protected me that day, the enemy could not harm me.
When God intervenes, the enemy will flee. Psalm 91 vs 11: For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
We continued along the timeline to my first real job… Employment in our country was scarce and with only a certificate in basic office administration, my prospects were even slimmer in comparison to those entering the workplace with diplomas and degrees. I became disheartened after many failed job interviews.
That same year I attended a Christian camp and met a powerful man of God who prayed for my seemingly hopeless situation of employment. He also said that I would find employment within a week. And so, it came to pass that I was employed as a junior office assistant at a tyre re-treading company the following week.
When God intervenes, the hopeless situations and circumstances in our lives can change in an instant. Luke 1 vs 37: For with God nothing will be impossible.
I did not know it at the time, but God had a plan and purpose for my life, and it was about to start taking shape… My Heavenly Father was about to bring into reality a dormant dream I’d had since the age of twelve – my dream of becoming a writer. After only eight months of employment, I was retrenched. Though devasted at first, I eventually realised that my job at the tyre re-treading company was only a “stepping-stone”, placed there by my Heavenly Father to provide me with a bit of work experience.
As I searched for a new job and committed my hopes and dreams to Him, He opened another door almost a year later. This time, at a public relations, publicity, and marketing consultancy. And it was there, that my training as a writer began… As I look back today, I realise that I am a walking testimony of Jeremiah 29 vs 11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.