Sheltered by God

by Mary Darrel –

God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, Though its water roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging… Be still and know that I am God…The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:1-3,10,11

“You have to move out of this apartment,” our landlady announced. “My mother wants to live here. You have two weeks to find a new place.”

My heart stopped for a second or two. Two weeks! How would we be able to find a place to live, and get together all that we need to make the move in such a short space of time? We had two babies, no money, no furniture, and no car to even look for a place to live. While our current flat was in the inner city of Detroit, it was clean, furnished–and was very inexpensive.

Having to move would certainly be a hardship on our already strained finances. My husband was working as hard as he could as a personnel consultant. Why was God moving us out? God did not answer our questions, but He did begin to supernaturally make provisions for our move.

First, of course, was finding a place to live. This was a daunting task since my husband worked every day, and we did not have any transportation. One day, however, a new friend who had opened a gospel mission near us stated she was going to get her hair done. I asked if I could go along with her, and get my hair trimmed.

Mary Lou and I drove out to an area near the city limits of Detroit. The beauty shop was located in a private home, and owned by a Christian who had wanted to bless Mary Lou. When we walked in the door, the Holy Spirit nudged me that this beautician was somehow connected to the new apartment He had in store for us. When I mentioned this to her, she was very puzzled and did not have a clue. She did, however, give me a local newspaper for that area of Detroit. Yes, you guessed it. In that paper I found the place that God had for us. It wasn’t anything to brag about, but it was adequate, clean–and far away from the inner city. (This was not important at the time, but became so later.)

God provided the furnishings we needed. First, the landlady agreed to sell us all the furniture, appliances, rugs, and drapes in the apartment where we had been living–for $150.00! My husband found a solid maple bedroom set at a gospel mission. And, last, but not least, I received a phone call from the woman who had been my hospital roommate when my youngest baby, Rebecca, was born four months before. “You’re going to think I’m crazy,” she said, “but do you need a washing machine? You can have mine as I am getting a new one.” Up to that point, I had used the laundromat across the street. Now, however, since we were moving, I had no idea how I would keep up with all of those diapers from two babies! Another sovereign provision!

Don’t stop reading now! I’m just getting to the best part: how God protected us in a time of “war.”

Sometime after Rebecca was born in February of 1967, as I lay in bed one night, I had a vision. It was my first vision, and I didn’t really understand what was happening. I saw a terrible tornado come over Detroit. The scene then changed. I saw a field or a lot with weeds and wild flowers growing in it. There was strong sense of death throughout the whole vision. I had no idea as to what was happening or what it was all about. I knew that an occasional tornado found its way to Detroit. Could this be a warning about such a weather event?

We moved to our new apartment sometime in May or June. One advantage, we discovered, was that it was close to the start-up business that my husband was undertaking with the help of another Christian businessman. We even managed to lease a car. Life settled down. We were thankful for all that God had provided for us.

One Sunday night in July, we joined another family in traveling to the northern suburbs of Detroit to visit a new church where God was moving powerfully. As we drove the freeway north, away from Detroit, we noticed large clouds of smoke bellowing up over the city. “Must be a big fire,” we thought. Big fire, indeed! On that evening riots broke out in the inner city. Many, many fires were burning .

When we became aware that night of what was taking place, such fear came into our hearts. The rioting, looting and fires went on for days. Like most Americans, I had never see “war” first-hand. So, about the third day, I foolishly drove downtown. What I saw so terrified me that I broke all speed limits in getting back home. I passed firefighters who were trying to put out a fire in a large chain grocery store. Trucks carrying national guard troops were rumbling down the street. At one gas station, the owners were lying behind sandbags with their rifles cocked, ready to shoot any attackers or looters. Smoke was trailing upward from numbers of burned out stores and businesses. Detroit had indeed been hit by a “tornado.”

Weeks later, after everything was again under control, our little family piled into our van and went to see what was left of where we used to live. My! The apartment was still standing, and seemed untouched. The surrounding area, however, told a different story. Our drug store was gutted. The cleaners and grocery store were just shells of buildings. What impressed me the most was the empty lot where the M.E. Moses store had stood, one block from our apartment. In the empty lot were growing weeds–flowering weeds.

I guess you know that at that time the vision came to my mind! I had my answer as to why God had forced us to move when He did. It was God’s hand of protection. His protection and provision for one insignificant and financially “challenged” little family. How we praised and thanked Him for His watch care over us!

That is not quite the end of the story, however. During the weeks between our move to the new apartment and the start of the riots, something else happened that showed how God keep His Word us. God had spoken to my husband’s heart to begin giving $5.00 a week more to a certain ministry. This was to be above our usual tithes. I still almost see the look of perplexity on my husband’s face as he told me what God was saying to him. Five dollars a week doesn’t sound like much, but to us it was a whole lot. (From 1967 to today that might translate as $45.00 or $50.00 a week.) How were we going to manage this financially? We didn’t know, but we were determined to obey God. Since God had just impressed upon me a scripture from Malachi, chapter 3, I was in full agreement: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house. And try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts…I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground…” vs.10,11.

Please understand: we did not consider this additional giving as some sort of “payment” to God in hopes of a big return. It was simple obedience to His voice and a step of faith and trust in His Word. At the time we did not realize that God was asking us to do this so that we would stretch our faith in Him, and thus enable Him to respond by rebuking the devourer. And rebuke the devourer He certainly did! I am glad to report that during the rioting the looters did not touch any part of my husband’s business! Another business in the same building, however, was almost completely destroyed.

Be encouraged. If God could do all of this for a simple little “nobody” family, he can certainly take care of you and your family as well–even in a time of threatened national or personal security.

Mary lives in Texas. She has written several articles that have been published in different magazines. She has two children in their 40’s, has homeschooled, taught children’s classes and was a nurse for 20 years. She has also been involved with several women’s ministries.