My friend and I then left his home at about 10:00 p.m. and headed for our hotel. We heard what sounded like five or six gunshots while driving back to our room. A pick up truck immediately in front of us quickly stopped. We stopped behind him. We didn't know what was going on. So, we just sat there. All of a sudden the truck turned around in the middle of the road and sped away. We were still stopped and a couple of other cars had pulled up behind us and were also stopped. One car passed us. When he got about 50 yards ahead of us, gang members ran out into the street with guns. The last thing that I saw was that car door opening. We immediately turned around and sped off.

All I could think about on the way back to our hotel was how close we came to being shot. We were only 10-15 seconds away from being in the middle of gang shootings. Then I thought about the pastor who said just a few minutes before the incident, "I think that we really need to pray for Sammy. If God is going to use him in our nation, then Satan will surely attack him."

God has given me a special burden to go to the difficult areas of the world. I call them difficult because those who stand for Christ experience many difficulties when they share the gospel in those communities and nations. But I have been doing this long enough to know that God is our protector. He is our first and last line of defense. We don't have to be afraid. Satan may be "a roaring lion," but he's a toothless one. Psalms 91 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture because it gives a complete description of our victory.

The Psalmist wrote, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the LORD, who is my refuge-- then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation" (Psalms 91 NIV).

I have watched God fulfill that promise in numerous countries around the world. I've walked into a revolution, the aftermath of an attempted genocide, and preached a major crusade in a war torn nation. I've been shot at, threatened, and run out of town for preaching the gospel. I've been arrested three times in nations that are hostile to Christianity. But every time, God has been faithful. Great is His faithfulness!