"You Christians are always persecuting people in the east in Jesus' name!" he rambled on. Suddenly, the man pulled out a shiny object from the pocket of his hoodie. "Lord, please tell me that's a phone ..." I prayed in my mind. Seeing a handle and a trigger, I realized that it wasn't a cellphone; it was a gun. Jonathan and I slowly moved to the edge of our seats, ready for anything.

Life is so precious. Tomorrow is not promised. The next few minutes are not even guaranteed. Now that I have your attention, I'd like to recall a game changing moment in my life. A time when God's protection was really made known to me. This is a story about the night my friend Jonathan and I stared death in the face through the barrel of a gun.

It was a quiet Wednesday evening in May, no different than the others. I was sitting in marketing management class struggling to pay attention as the minute hand moved closer to 9 p.m. Usually, the professor would teach until 10, but not this night. Apparently, he had gotten some food poisoning from earlier and decided to end class earlier to deal with his ailments. Of course we, in the class, were excited to leave an hour early so without hesitation I gathered my things and got a ride back to the campus apartments with Jonathan.

Upon arriving to the apartments, I decided to go with Jonathan to his room and talk. My room was a few doors away from his so I didn't mind chatting for a couple hours. We went into his place and he decided to leave the front door open in order to let the place air out a bit. We sat on the couch and began to discuss class, personal issues, goals and other things. The conversation was getting really good until we noticed a man standing at the front door.

I assumed Jonathan knew who this man was because I had never seen him before. However, I quickly realized from the look on Jonathan's face, he didn't know who he was either. "I just came back from Syria," said the stranger. He appeared to be out of breath and reeked of alcohol. I could tell he was really drunk because he could barely stand up without leaning on the door post. "Are you all Muslim?" he asked. "No," we answered. "We're Seventh-Day Adventists."

"You Christians are always persecuting people in the Jesus' name!" he replied. "I have people throughout California, Texas and Oklahoma. We're going to make some changes around here. I mean, how would you like it if someone were shooting at you!" Suddenly, the man pulled out a shiny object from the pocket of his hoodie. "Lord, please tell me that's a phone," I prayed in my mind. Seeing a handle and a trigger, I realized that it wasn't a cellphone; it was a gun. My entire being immediately went numb and I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. Jonathan and I slowly moved to the edge of our seats, ready for anything. I knew we were both thinking the same thing: fight or flight.

So many things went through my mind from that moment. I was thinking of how to strategically get out of there safely. I was prepared to crash through the second story window if needed. I was also thinking of what to do if a fight had to start. "Lord, I am not trying to become the next hashtag trend," I prayed. "We do not need a #JusticeforJyremy to start trending! Please make this man leave!"

Since the man was drunk, he never pointed the gun directly at anyone, but more so waved it around. Regardless, Jonathan and I were both still ready for anything. Finally near the end of his rant, the man put the gun back into his hoodie pocket and said, "... but since you two love Jesus, I'm not going to kill anyone here tonight." Then he left, and we quietly waited until we heard his last footstep of the stairs.

Quickly, we closed the door and locked it. We immediately called the campus security and the Riverside police. Within a few minutes they were at our door and we were describing what happened and the man's physical appearance. While we were talking to them, we saw the man still walking around the corner aimlessly. "That's him!" we told the cops. They quietly ran down stairs and waited until the man was about to go to another room. "Freeze! Get on your knees and put your hands in the air!" they commanded. Still drunk, the man reluctantly did what he was told. They handcuffed him and took him away in the police car. We never heard anything about him since.

Needless to say, we were both thankful to the Lord for His protection. The next morning we were still in disbelief. But on the wall next to my bed is certain Psalm that my family holds close to our hearts on a daily basis. "Read it aloud for a worship thought," said Jonathan. So I read it. Psalm 91 says, "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most 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."

It continues, "If you say, 'The Lord is my refuge,' and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake 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. 'Because he loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'"

I believe everyday that an angel was sent to intercept the situation and to protect us from harm.