By Benescke Janse van Rensburg

Have you ever found yourself in fearful situations in which only God can help you? Here is a testimony by author Carina Stander of an experience they had had a few years ago:

Carina: "Shortly after my husband, Gerrit and I got married, we were awakened at about 03:00 one morning by a noise at the front door of our cottage in Hout Bay. Gerrit got up to see what it was. When I heard a wrestling at the door, I immediately knew it was burglars. I jumped from our bedroom window and ran to seek help at the landlord’s house a short distance away.
 
While banging on the landlord’s door, I suddenly became aware of impending danger. Little did I know the burglars stabbed Gerrit and left him in our cottage before chasing after me. I swung around to find one of the robbers barely a meter away from me. He had an iron bar in his hand, ready to stab me. For years before this moment I regularly practiced to apply my authority in the name of Jesus Christ if something like this were to happen.
 
In that moment I experienced the power and presence of God and with an outstretched finger towards the burglar, I heard myself saying: ‘In the Name of Jesus Christ, you will not touch me!’ With total shock on his face, the man lowered his weapon. Two other robbers were quickly next to the man and again I yelled the same words towards them. They too froze in their tracks with an expression of shock on their faces as if they saw something I did not. Within a few seconds, the three men turned around and ran away.
 
We took Gerrit to the hospital and luckily none of the wounds were serious. Later on that day we were astounded when a friend from Pretoria, who didn’t know what had happened to us, phoned to find out if we were ok. He told that he had a disturbing dream that previous night. In the dream, Gerrit and I were walking though an open field when three bush pigs came out of nowhere to attack us. They were about to overtake us when he woke up. He fervently started to pray for our safety. It was exactly 03:00 that morning – the hour of the attack. The police later-on arrested the attackers and found out that the attack was gang-related. Their aim of the attack was to rape me. God protected me. All glory goes to Him!”
 
Carina is right. When Jesus Christ overcame evil on the cross, He gave us authority to do the same. In Luke 10:19, we read, “Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy. . . Nothing will injure you.”  When we command the enemy to flee “in the name of Jesus Christ”, it is as if Jesus himself gives that command. Also in Psalm 91:11 we read: “For He (God) will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”And in 2 Kings 6: 16-17, the prophet Elisha and his slave were outnumbered by the enemy about to attack them. The slave was fearful, but listened to Elisha’s words when speaking to the servant: “Don’t be afraid! For there are more on our side than on theirs!”Then Elisha prayed that God would open his servant’s eyes to see the mountains around them filled with horses and chariots of fire indicating that God was protecting them. He still does the same for us today.
 
I would not be surprised if the three attackers in Hout Bay that night saw angels next to Carina – and it perhaps changed their lives forever. Let us draw close to God in terrifying situations in our lives with the knowledge that we too have authority over evil, because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. God protects us with an army of horses and chariots of fire and his angels are indeed all around us. God bless.

Father God, thank you for being my Protector. Thank you, Jesus, for the authority and power that exists in your name. Please help me to use it in the right way. I pray this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

• See picture of Carina Stander and her family at www.benescke.co.za or on the social network page, Stories van hoop.
• Do you have a testimony of what God has done in your life? Or do you have questions or a contribution to the current theme, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..