by Linda Veath

two women on a road trip inside a car

The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, He saved me. … For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death … that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. ~ Psalm 116:6, 8 NIV

On the way home from St. Louis, my friends Patty and Sheryl decided it was time for an ice cream break. Since Patty was confident she knew the location of the Dairy Queen in the small town they were approaching, she turned off the highway in search of it. But there was no DQ. The pair explored the small town, including several of its subdivisions. They even found themselves on a road leading out of town — the wrong way. And still no DQ.

Frustrated and more determined than ever to find the Dairy Queen, they retraced their steps to start the search over again. That’s when the proverbial light bulb went on. And Patty exclaimed: “Oh. Wait. The DQ I’m looking for is in the town we just drove through, not this one.”

After much laughter, they decided to just head home. They had wasted enough time.

And enough time it was. When they arrived in the next small town, they found it cleaning up from a severe storm that had just rolled through. If Patty and Sheryl hadn’t been wandering around looking for a DQ in the wrong town, they’d have driven into a very severe storm.

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The Lord had watched out for them. As Psalm 116 promised, He had protected His simple-hearted children. (Although I think “simple-minded” might be more appropriate in this instance.)

Simple-hearted or simple-minded, Psalm 116 reminds us that the Lord protects those who are His. Those who have a simple, childlike dependence on and trust in Him. That protection includes not only safety from a storm but most importantly saving our soul from death by Christ’s dying on the cross in our place.

My two friends were blessed to see the Lord’s protection at work. That’s not always the case. But won’t it be wonderful when we reach heaven and see all the times He has protected us that we didn’t know about.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting your “simple” children.