It might not look like it if you're looking out your window in the U.K., but summer is here. The season is one of the most popular times for travelling as sun seekers and culture vultures set out to top up their tans and broaden their horizons (literally and metaphorically).
Travelling can be wonderful, but it's also a time when, irrespective of the extent of our forward-planning and preparation, we can be extremely vulnerable. Along with our sun cream, shades and travel sickness tablets, as Christians, one form of protection that we should also ensure we value is God's. It doesn't matter how far you go from home, He stays with you every step of the way.
These nine Bible verses are worth re-reading if you're travelling alone or as part of a group, going on a short holiday or about to spend months backpacking, or travelling for a few hours or a few days to reach your destination.
And if you have no plans to jet off anywhere in the near future but know of friends and family who are due to take a trip, why not pass on these passages to them? You can even recite them as part of your prayers for loved ones who are going on holiday.
Proverbs 3:23-24 – "Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet."
Psalm 32:7-8 – "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."
Psalm 121:5-8 – "The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
Psalm 91:11 – "For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."
Proverbs 16:9 – "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."
Deuteronomy 31:8 – "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Deuteronomy 1:30-31 – "The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."
Proverbs 15:3 – "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good."
Isaiah 58:11 – "The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
