Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me. Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. Psalm 40:11
As news became public about little 3-year-old Casey Hathaway, folks throughout Eastern North Carolina and beyond began to pray. He had wandered away from the backyard and headed into the deeply wooded area of Ernul, a rural/farming community in northwestern Craven County.
A massive search party formed, and as nighttime temperatures plunged into the twenties, everyone was worried that Casey may not survive the night. By day two and after a torrential rainfall and wind, most people were thinking that the rescue mission may have become into a recovery mission as little Casey was nowhere to be found.
On day three as all hope for Casey was fading a local woman who had been out walking her dog on a rural road, thought she heard a little animal or child calling out from a thickly wooded area and immediately altered authorities. Emergency personnel quickly searched the area and found little Casey dehydrated and scrapped up from the thick briers that had held him entangled. One of the first things he told his rescuers, and his family was that “a purple bear” had been with him for those two and a half days, and that the bear had told Casey “He was his best friend and that everything would be ok.”
I’m not sure what to make of the “purple bear,” but I can’t question for a moment what Casey said he experienced. Some have called the “purple bear” an angel sent from the Lord. We certainly see in scripture where God, at times, used animals and angels in significant roles of protection. One thing is for certain, and that is that Casey was divinely protected. It’s been said that by day two his survivability rate was at 3%, but God kept Casey and brought him through 100% safe and sound.
Divine protection is a promise and one of the seven benefits of being Saved, which is defined by the Greek word for Saved, “Sozo.”
Today, we can put our trust in God’s Divine Protection.