Living in Columbus, Ohioand near many outdoor opportunities, I naturally became an avid outdoorsman and loved fishing. The river north of Alum Creek Lake, just north of Columbus, is where the white bass have a great spring spawning run each year. This spot is very popular with many local fishermen who love that short-lived, but crazy-fun, spring run – where some catch as many as one hundred twelve-to-fifteen-inch fish in a matter of hours.
I was very active in my church and led one of many homegroups (from the church) in our home – which was very common in the early Charismatic move. One spring day, two ladies from our homegroup, hearing me talking about the white bass run, asked if I could take them there to go fishing during the spawn. So, one evening I took them to a favorite spot on the river where the white bass had been running and I’d caught a stringer full a few days before. Even though it was called a river, at this part of the flow, it was only a large creek, about thirty feet across and maybe a couple of feet deep.
We parked the car a few hundred yards away and then walked down to the river with our gear.
Normally, when the run was in full steam, you’d be forced to stand shoulder to shoulder with others because it was so popular, as I’d just experienced previously that week. Unfortunately, the run was over, and no one was there but us. Determined to make the best of the situation, hoping there might still be a few white bass in the stream, we stayed.
Finding a good spot, we stood on the same side, with about twenty feet between each of us – the ladies on the left and me on the right – giving each other plenty enough room for casting our lures without entangling each other’s line.
As we stood there fishing – actually just casting, not catching a thing – two men walked up from around the bend, wading in the middle of the river.
I’m not a small guy – I was five feet-eight inches and probably around 285 pounds at the time – but these guys were much bigger. They dwarfed me. They had to be six feet-four inches to six feet-six inches and 350 to 400 pounds each. I could tell that they were thicker and more muscular than fat.
The men came around the bend to my right, maybe thirty feet away. An uneasy feeling hit me, but trying to be cordial, I said, “How’s it going?”
One of the men grumbled an unfriendly, unintelligible reply.
The uneasy feeling continued to grow in intensity, so in my mind, under my breath, I bound and cut off all the enemy.
The two men stood there and did not move for five long, long minutes. Then they walked over next to each other and began whispering in each other’s ears, scanning back and forth at the two ladies and me.
At that point, they walked right in front of where we were fishing – forcing us to change where we were casting. We tried to be nice, ignoring their disrespect.
For another long five minutes, they continued to look back and forth at us and then each other. The unsettled feeling became ominous. The atmosphere was “so thick you could cut it with a knife.” I sensed an overwhelming intent of rape and murder.
The women and I glanced back and forth at each other, our faces expressing grave concern as if we all knew what was about to happen. The situation felt unquestionably hopeless as if we tried to leave or run, they’d chase us down, kill me, and have their way with the women, then kill them.
Sensing the situation about to climax, I very discretely reached for my hunting knife at my side. I knew that I’d die before letting them get to the women. I’d do whatever it took to give the women a chance to run back to the car. Knowing the two men outclassed me in height and build, I realized that this could potentially be my end. My only solace was, as I fought to the end, that the women could get up the bank, back to the car and get away.
Now the time felt imminent. So for a second time, in my mind and under my breath, I again began to bind and cut off all the enemy. Instantly, before I could even finish my thoughts, one of the men screamed out at the top of his lungs.
“Shut up! We heard you the first time! We’re leaving!”
The two men immediately turned tail and quickly rounded the bend of the river in the direction they’d come from – until gone and out of sight.
For some long moments, I stood there in shock. So did the women. A couple of minutes later, the ladies came over. They expressed that they had felt the exact same, thick, overwhelming atmosphere of rape and murder. They too had sensed the same impending doom.
Flabbergasted, they asked, “What did you say that made them yell that crazy stuff and made them leave?”
I replied, “I only said, ‘How’s it going?’ some fifteen minutes earlier.”
The women acknowledged they’d heard that but still wondered what had just happened in front of them.
I continued, “The only other thing I did was, in the beginning – in my mind, under my breath – I’d bound the enemy. Then as things came to a head and for a second time, I once again, in my mind, under my breath, bound the enemy. That’s when the man said what he said, and they left.”
We all stood there stunned, amazed and shocked. As the adrenaline began to drain from my body, I stood there shaking. The only thing flowing through my mind was the scripture in 1John 4:4, ‘Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.’
We saw the power of God at work firsthand. The Holy Spirit who lives in us, as believers, is greater than all the evil spirits in those men – as well as, all the evil powers and all other forces out there that would try to come against us. I’m so grateful that the Spirit of God was our saving strength that day.
Submitted by: Tom Snow
This story was taken from Tom Snow’s new book – The Daily Stand : A Spiritual Warfare Instruction Manual for Today and the Upcoming Next Great Move of God. This book is an accumulation of fifty plus years of personal experience and scripture, exploring topics that Christian believers need to know in walking with the Lord in daily life in a very practical, non-religious way. This manual shows how to stand against evil and effectively use God’s authority in Christ to stop it.
Once we get to Heaven and God shows us a reel of our life, we will discover how many times we were rescued, protected or redirected by supernatural means. What a divine privilege it is that, during our time on earth, God gives us snapshots into the supernatural realm, unusual happenings that announce that Heaven is present and involved in our lives.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:11
If you would like to share a personal story of supernatural protection or angelic activity in your history, please reach out. Private message me on Facebook messenger or email me and I will explain the details. I would love to share your testimony on my blog as an encouragement to others. As it says in Hebrews 3:13 – Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’.
Also, you are welcome to share this story with your friends and family, or with anyone who needs some encouragement.
