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Key Bible Verse: He will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever (Psalm 37:28).Bonus Reading: Psalm 37:21-40

Camped in the Saudi Arabian desert during 1991's Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Marine lieutenant Jake Adams often observed smoke from oil fires driven across the sky by the prevailing west wind. Jake's artillery battalion was to provide initial fire support for his division in the attack to liberate Kuwait. Intelligence reports put an Iraqi tank brigade two kilometers from where they'd be positioned, dangerously exposed.

Two hours before the advance, Jake, as Protestant lay leader, assembled the Marines for prayer, asking God to provide protection. As they moved out in their Humvees, the wind shifted, blowing from the east. A black cloud quickly extended from horizon to horizon, blotting out all light.

With virtually no visibility, it took the Marines two-and-one-half hours to reach their first fighting position, adjacent to the reported Iraqi tank brigade. Early the next morning, several hundred rounds were fired on Iraqi targets. Once the shooting stopped, they expected the tanks to approach. But they had apparently repositioned while the black cloud hid the Marines' movement, greatly reducing their vulnerability to counterattack.

—Donna Adams in OCF Command

My Response: Is my primary reliance on my own resourcefulness or on God's protection and provision? How can I tell?

Adapted from Command (Officers Christian Fellowship, 11/98) by permission.

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, You see me, guide me, hold me close. Nowhere can I be lost from You. I am safe everywhere because You are near.

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