This week's encouraging comments came from a partner of mine, Chris Niven. He relays how he saw God's hand of protection on the highway last week. Enjoy. He aptly named this "You Picked a fine time to leave me Loose Wheel". I hope you enjoy his testimony of God's grace on the Houston highway last week.
Last week, it was my first time ever to disciple a young man named Jessee after having just studied the Call to Joy and Road to Growth. I especially like the Road to Growth title, as my own testimony could be the ending chapter. What is significant about that Bible study, is we were talking about our favorite scripture and how we can apply it in our everyday life in the Spiritual Guide. Jessee’s favorite scripture is Romans 8:31 - What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? His application of that scripture was to spread the word and fear nothing because God is with him. I shared with him that one of my own favorite scriptures is Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through him who strengthens me. When we finished our study, I was headed to church, travelling around 75-80 miles per hour as I was anxious to get there and perform my duty cleaning in front of the church. As I was driving, I reflected on the significance of these two verses and their underlying power.
After church, I left to pick up my best friend, and out of the blue she called to tell me she had been watching the news, and told me the police were out in full force and that they were merciless on this holiday weekend. She mentioned she had an uncomfortable feeling about my driving that day, and she is not a bossy kind of person, so I listened. I slowed down from 77 miles per hour to 65 miles per hour and thought nothing more about it. Within one minute of her phone call, I passed through the E-Z tag lane at I-10 and Beltway 8 in Houston, Texas, and as my car passed the toll booth, my right front tire blew out and went bouncing down the road. Sparks were flying and for the first couple of seconds, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening to me. I was travelling at 65 miles per hour at the time, so I took my foot off the accelerator and barely moved the steering wheel to the right so I could get onto the shoulder of the road. That was not a good thing to do. My car wobbled and for a second, I believe I was traveling on one wheel. Witnesses who stopped, told me they thought I was going to flip. The insurance adjuster told me that most drivers that loose an entire wheel on the highway usually lose control of their vehicles. An officer also told me that if I had been travelling over 70 miles an hour, drivers almost always lose control.
I clamped on the steering wheel and held a tight straight path, any deviations from this path could spell disaster. It is probably a good time to mention that during this whole event, I felt no fear. My mind was simply calculating my next move and one wrong move could mean my life and the lives of others around me. I couldn’t go to the shoulder of the road, so I applied my brakes to slow down in hopes no one would run into the rear of my car. It was a good strategy except I had no brakes. So here I am, on a straight and narrow path, I can’t go around anything, and I am basically helpless. I was watching my life pass before m y very eyes, with only thoughts of survival and seeing my loved ones again, and saying to myself that God will strengthen me. I’m watching the speedometer slowly go from 65 to 60, from 60 to 55, from 55 to 50, from 50 to 45, I think you get the picture. It takes a LONG TIME for my car to slow down to around 20 miles an hour when I can finally start steering my car to the shoulder of the road.
I came in for a landing at the most desirable spot you could imagine. It was right at the end of the freeway at the beginning of the exit where there was plenty of room to park without concern of being hit. Four police cars showed up right away, and I never felt fear, but my hands were shaking and I was clearly nervous after going through a ride that made Space Mountain look like Playland Park. One officer told me he had the report and saw my wheel which he pitched into the grassy area off the road, but had to drive about a half a mile before he saw me on the side of the road. We estimated it took about 1 minute before my car finally came to a stop. A tow truck showed up and we were about to leave, so I thanked the officers and shared with one very nice officer that I had been memorizing my scripture when y accident occurred and he said it is a good thing or I might not have been around to share the story and then he told me something I will never forget. He said, “Someone up above still has work for you to do on this planet.” Those were the last words I heard before I got into the tow truck, and then it hit me. Wow! That is God’s way of communicating with me.
What are the odds that I studied the scripture about fearing nothing if God is with you? What are the odds of studying that I can do all things through him who strengthens me? What are the odds that I would get a phone call from a friend who has an intuitive thought about me speeding that day (no one ever called to tell me they were worried about y driving). What are the odds that I would listen to her and slow down 12 miles an hour? What are the odds that my whole wheel would come off and not damage anything or anybody? What are the odds that my car didn’t flip or me lose control of the vehicle? What are the odds that I didn’t hit someone, or someone hit me? What are the odds that my vehicle would stop at the most desirable place to land? Finally, what are the odds that the last words I hear in this event are “Someone up above still has work for you to do on this planet?”
Well, I don’t know about you, but the message is very clear to me. We are all on this planet for a short time, and there is danger lurking from all directions and we have a choice how to live our lives. What is behind us can’t be changed, and if we panic or just make a wrong move it can spell disaster, and there is no stopping what is ahead. In my case, my only course was to follow a straight and narrow path without fear, and trust in the Lord to take care of me.
Last week, my pastor mentioned the men needed someone to step up and facilitate a men’s Bible study. I thought about it, but I was worried that I had never done anything like it before, but now I think I NEVER DROVE MY CAR 65 MILES AN HOUR ON THREE WHEELS EITHER! So, I am sending my pastor a copy of the letter, and if that position is still open, I would be honored to accept, provided the elders and men of the congregation will allow me to serve.
The message to all of us is that if you woke up this morning and took a breath of air, and if you had the opportunity to read my testimony, then wake up and realize that God still has work for you to do on this planet as well!
Chris Niven
Upstream Professionals, Inc.
V.P. Business Development
No comments:
Post a Comment