When I was younger I had several close calls with my life. One was in my dad’s bright red 1964 Chevy, going way to fast on the backroad that ran out by Celanese & suddenly there was a 90 degree turn. All I remember seeing out of the passenger side window was stars & then the car slammed to the ground; I was alive, the car wasn’t wrecked, God had surely held that car so that it didn’t roll over again and again. My pulse was surely in the 200 range.
Then another time I was going north on highway 70 in my 1959 convertible T-bird with some friends, trying to see how fast the 430 cu. in. engine would go. The speedometer went to 140, I chickened out at 120. The next day while I was washing the tires on my recently purchased T-bird, the tread pulled loose on each tire. I thought they were real tires, turned out they were retreads and were coming apart. If we had gone much further, we would all have probably died that night.
Another time was when I was working for Southern Natural Gas Co. on their first offshore platform. I was removing a devise for pressuring up gas/oil wells that had shut down. What I didn’t know is that the man who had hooked it up, lost the O-ring and had pounded the hammer union until it stopped leaking. I stood over the top of the tree, hammering my heart out, forgetting to close the needle valve on top. I decided to move to the side and try one more time. The gas well blew on my next strike, 2,500 pounds of pressure; it would have cut me in half.
Why reminisce these scary times? I had another one last night. You may not know, but due to a botched back surgery, I am restricted to a walker and a wheelchair. Last night after teaching my Wednesday night advanced study of the Divided Kingdom & Kings, I made my way across the street in my wheelchair like usual. I thought that I had looked both ways down Banks St. very carefully, but I obviously had not. It was dusk. I have learned that when I leave the church driveway, I have to push the wheels pretty hard. When I do that I’m not really looking around much. Shari was on our front porch across the street watching the whole thing. I got about 1/3 of the way into the street and suddenly heard a car. I don’t know where the gray car came from, with no headlights on, but there he was. I couldn’t stop and thank that LORD, either the man swerved or God swerved that car, or both. The man was going too fast to have stopped and I hadn’t turned on the lights I had installed on my wheelchair for just such an occasion. Either way, God gets all the glory.
I tell you these true stories to ask you a question: Is there some close call that happened in your life that you need to thank God for sparing you? Maybe it was in the distant past; maybe, like me, it was last night. Don’t forget to thank Him. I have thanked God a hundred times for watching over me last night. And I promised my lovely wife, who has begged me a hundred times to turn my lights on, that I will do so from now on.
I don’t know why He spared me last night. I’m 71 years old, I’ve lived my life and am eager to go HOME. However, His sparing me means that there is more He has for me to do before my trip HOME.
The same is true of you. Every time God spares you, there is a reason. You may not know that reason, but keep your eyes pealed because God will show you why He intervened. It may be to give you time to repent and find salvation. It may be to share the gospel of Jesus one more time with a family member or a friend. It may be to help some person in need. Whatever the reason, God will show you. Then you will more clearly understand why He spared you.
Mike Sublett is a pastor at Hi-Land Christian Church, 1615 N. Banks St., Pampa, Texas 79065. Email him at pawdad@nts-online.net.
