A Clear Reminder
According to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 33,808 people in the United States lost their lives as a result of car accidents in 2009. Though that number has surprisingly continued to decrease since 1990, there is always need for concern each time we operate a motor vehicle. It's just one more reason we need the daily protection of our Heavenly Father.
Most of us tend to fail in noticing God's hand of protection and praising Him for it until a situation causes us to recognize it. Continual prayer and fasting was necessary for even Jesus to attain His Father's protection until His purpose was fulfilled. Once Jesus made the public aware of who He truly was, He became an immediate target for an "accident" to occur. God's hand would be over Him for three years of ministry until the plan for His life was completed.
Recently, over the past few months and even in a span of two weeks, this protection would be witnessed in members of our church family in three separate car accidents. Out of the five people involved, four are a part our youth ministry.
The first teen was driving to school on a foggy morning and ran off the road into a wooden fence. The picture sent to me would show one of the boards from the top railing of the fence came through the windshield on her driver's side and missed her head by inches. She walked away with no injuries.
The second teen was driving his brand new car that was given to him as a Christmas present home from work when he fell asleep. He ran off the road and flipped twice. When I saw the pictures, I cringed in horror. The car was completely smashed up all the way around. Though sore, the teen didn't have a scratch on him. When I was directed to look closer at the pictures, I saw that the only place the car was not smashed was around him. It was as though he was in a bubble. I believe the structure couldn't fold in because God's hand was in the way.
A family of three was traveling on an extremely severe rainy morning heading to school. The car hydroplaned, went off the road, and crashed into trees. The mother, driver, had a broken pelvis. The daughter, riding in the passenger's seat, had a broken arm. The son, riding in the back seat, had a broken vertebrae in his back, eight broken ribs, collapsed lung on the left side, broken arm, and laceration on top of his head. They very easily could have lost their lives. Three weeks after the accident, I finally got the opportunity to visit them. I was expecting to see the mother and son laid up in their beds, in pain, and unable to move. Obviously, my focus was not on the healing power of Jesus and I must have forgotten about all the prayers we offered to God on their behalf. I arrive at the house, go to the door, and there the mother and son both were standing. Yes, that is written correctly, "standing." Oh, and of course, they were smiling. They invited me in and walked me - once again, "walked" me into the living room and began to share the goodness of our Heavenly Father.
In each of these incidents, the number reported by FARS in 2012 could have been increased by five people. But God's protection prevented that from being so. Each result of these accidents is a clear reminder.
For many of us, tragedy and untimely death have taken loved ones or friends. I lost one of my best friends to leukemia when he was 23 years old. But do those instances change the fact that protection was upon their lives until that moment? Because sin was brought into this world, "it is appointed for men to die once" (Hebrews 9:27). We never know the consummation of that appointment. So, why not praise God for the protection He's granted this day? He certainly deserves it.
Most of us tend to fail in noticing God's hand of protection and praising Him for it until a situation causes us to recognize it. Continual prayer and fasting was necessary for even Jesus to attain His Father's protection until His purpose was fulfilled. Once Jesus made the public aware of who He truly was, He became an immediate target for an "accident" to occur. God's hand would be over Him for three years of ministry until the plan for His life was completed.
Recently, over the past few months and even in a span of two weeks, this protection would be witnessed in members of our church family in three separate car accidents. Out of the five people involved, four are a part our youth ministry.
The first teen was driving to school on a foggy morning and ran off the road into a wooden fence. The picture sent to me would show one of the boards from the top railing of the fence came through the windshield on her driver's side and missed her head by inches. She walked away with no injuries.
The second teen was driving his brand new car that was given to him as a Christmas present home from work when he fell asleep. He ran off the road and flipped twice. When I saw the pictures, I cringed in horror. The car was completely smashed up all the way around. Though sore, the teen didn't have a scratch on him. When I was directed to look closer at the pictures, I saw that the only place the car was not smashed was around him. It was as though he was in a bubble. I believe the structure couldn't fold in because God's hand was in the way.
A family of three was traveling on an extremely severe rainy morning heading to school. The car hydroplaned, went off the road, and crashed into trees. The mother, driver, had a broken pelvis. The daughter, riding in the passenger's seat, had a broken arm. The son, riding in the back seat, had a broken vertebrae in his back, eight broken ribs, collapsed lung on the left side, broken arm, and laceration on top of his head. They very easily could have lost their lives. Three weeks after the accident, I finally got the opportunity to visit them. I was expecting to see the mother and son laid up in their beds, in pain, and unable to move. Obviously, my focus was not on the healing power of Jesus and I must have forgotten about all the prayers we offered to God on their behalf. I arrive at the house, go to the door, and there the mother and son both were standing. Yes, that is written correctly, "standing." Oh, and of course, they were smiling. They invited me in and walked me - once again, "walked" me into the living room and began to share the goodness of our Heavenly Father.
In each of these incidents, the number reported by FARS in 2012 could have been increased by five people. But God's protection prevented that from being so. Each result of these accidents is a clear reminder.
For many of us, tragedy and untimely death have taken loved ones or friends. I lost one of my best friends to leukemia when he was 23 years old. But do those instances change the fact that protection was upon their lives until that moment? Because sin was brought into this world, "it is appointed for men to die once" (Hebrews 9:27). We never know the consummation of that appointment. So, why not praise God for the protection He's granted this day? He certainly deserves it.
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