Beverly replied, “I am okay; I
am just a little sore from tensing up.” If I hadn’t been driving, I would have
tensed up, too! I was too busy dodging a missile. When our car finally came to
a complete stop, we were practically pointing in the opposite direction from
where we had entered the intersection.
Beverly and I saw the driver and
the front seat passenger, who had witnessed the whole scene from the northbound
turning lane, through our driver-side window; we will not soon forget the look
on their faces. Their jaws were agape, and their eyes were like saucers frozen
in place! It brought some comic relief to a not-so-funny situation. We just avoided
an incoming rogue rocket, and they missed being collateral damage of being at
the right place at the wrong time from a human’s point of view.
Amazingly, I don’t recall ever
tensing up, no residual soreness at all. My brain had apparently made all the right calculations
while my body responded in kind under guidance not from this world; the
unseen hands of God in all of this were evident. In a heartbeat, we went from having
a conversation within the peaceful and quietness of the cabin of our car, anticipating
a safe journey home, into an austere valley of the shadow of death with images
and sounds that were surreal and screaming at us (cf. Psa 23:4a). Always true
to His Word, Yahweh was with us and provided a way out of harm’s way (Psa.
23:4b). The wolf would not be making a meal of us that day.
As we moved slowly out of the
intersection, the driver of the other car pulled alongside Beverly and without
rolling his window down asked, “Are you okay?” We read his lips but were unable to
hear his words; the rocket had a face. I thought to myself, “You are asking us
this question in light of the fact that you intentionally ran a red light that
could have gotten us all seriously injured or killed? Maybe he didn’t see us
entering the intersection? But he still made a terrible decision to run the red
light.” I nodded my head, but I was not a happy camper.
Ironically, the look on his face
was one of surprise, but unlike the spectators in the turning lane, the driver of the missile had an
expression of, “I didn’t intend for any of this to happen.” Again, I thought to
myself, “When you intentionally run a red light what did you think would
happen?”
It is not easy being a Christian
in times like these. Boy, I was in a fleshed-up mood. I was so thankful to God
for protecting us, more so with Beverly, but see if you can relate here. If we
are honest there are times we wish we could physically connect with the enemy. That
night I did, but two verses came to mind (Jn 18:11a; Eph 6:12). “Oh, Holy
Spirit! Did You have to go and remind me of those?” If God was to receive
glory, it had to be handled His way (cf. Zech 4:6).
On the way home Beverly
complained of soreness in her legs and feet. I thought of a professor of mine
who lost his only son to a drunk driver, or another professor who lost his wife
because a university student ran a stop sign on campus. In dumbfounding
times like these, it is to the cross we must go to be reminded of the
demonstration of God’s love for us (Jn 3:16; Rom 5:8; 1 Jn 4:10), or we could
forego all of that and lend an ear to the enemy, “I thought God loved you?” Eve takes a bite...
Wherever we go in this world, no
matter how beautiful and serene the terrain is, it can be a spiritual battlefield in a heartbeat! It
has been that way since the fall of Adam. Demonic terrorism has open borders, but
they are held in check by the sovereignty of God unless God allows the hedge of
protection to be hinged, as was in the case of Job. We found ourselves that night
in a potential never-forgotten moment. I was thankful to God that we emerged
unscathed, but I was in no mood for praying for this fool at the scene for my
heart was going dark.
The next morning I was much
calmer and able to see that Beverly and I had both witnessed the flashes of sovereignty before our very eyes the night before. God made Himself known that He was
in full control of the outcome. I was reminded that nothing enters our lives
unless He approves of it, and in the process of things, He orchestrates the
outcomes for His glory and our good. When we had departed from our friends
earlier, I failed to pray for safety for the journey home; God was merciful
anyway. We often take spiritual things for granted; I did (cf. 1 Thes 5:17).
His presence never leaves His
plans for us (cf. Heb 13:5). The truth of Rom 8:28, “All things work together [work
together continually, the verb is in the present tense] for good (or for our
benefit) for those who love God….” could not be realized if God was not directly
involved in “all things” and everywhere present, all-powerful, all-knowing, and
all-wise.
This was the very thing that
happened to Job, God’s sovereignty was revealed for Job and His wife, friends,
peers, colleagues, and for our learning (Rom 15:4). There are always those who
never get it like Job’s three “friends” (cf. Job 42:7, 8, 9). Scripture is
replete with flashes of sovereignty in the lives of those that fear Him (Psa
34:7).
This near miss did not take
place by “accident.” Nothing is accidental in the life of a believer, absolutely
nothing, and that is no spiritual hyperbole. I knew this was God who allowed
our physical health to be placed in jeopardy that night, and it was God who
protected us from physical harm, except for the 10,000 miles removed off my
tires and left on the asphalt from all the skidding around.
God has every right to do with us as He pleases for His glory, and if He wants to wear our tires out in an intersection that’s okay by me for He owns the car! Job never found out the reason this side of eternity why good got hit by bad, and there will be times we will never know the “why-of-it” down here.
Since we believe in Rom 8:28, we
have to trust in Him, and that is key, that He is doing right by us all the
time, regardless of the circumstances as was with Job (Job 13:15). This is
easier to say than to flesh out when under fire and duress. In our ordeal,
however, I think I know at least one of the reasons this happened?
I have harbored these feelings
that God could do whatever He wanted to with me, but not to touch my wife. It
was okay to bless her but not hurt her. Have you ever had this attitude, “God
take whatever you desire, but please don’t touch the apple of my eye!” This
sounds noble, but it is actually very selfish and ludicrous thinking, of the
creature telling the Creator what He can or cannot do. I am in no position to
demand anything from God, and neither are you.
Was my anger with the situation a
reflection of disagreeing with God’s sovereign right, yes; in short, it was a sinful attitude (1 Jn 1:9, confess = agree). Was Beverly mine or did she belong
to God? Did God not have sovereign rights over me as well as her (cf. 1 Cor
6:19, 20)? In reality, my love for her was competing with my love for God, an
infraction of the prime directive of all of Scripture, to love God above all, animate
or inanimate (Deut 6:5).
For me there is a delicate
balance between acknowledging and surrendering all to God’s sovereignty and living
out the command of Eph 5:25. I was out of balance between my love for my wife
and God. I had not given her over to the Lord, relinquishing the most precious
“thing” (Prov 18:22) in my life. What if the face of that missile was Jesus? If
it was I didn’t recognize Him that night, and that is one of the most
fundamental mistakes we all make, failing to see Jesus in our crisis.
Of all the observations
involving earthy things earlier that evening, it paled in comparison to the
flashes of Sovereignty revealed in that arena at 25th and Keith. I
will never drive through that intersection without recalling that night, the
place where God asked me to trust Him concerning Beverly. I have to partially
quote our dear brother Peter while he was on the Mount of Transfiguration,
“Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt
17:4).
As crazy as this may sound, can
we say that coming out of a bad situation? Hear the conclusion of the whole
matter. It is always good to be anywhere
in the will of God, even in those places that align us to God’s right to
rule in our lives, or those intrusive moments where God steps in at some intersection
of our life that could prove to be provocative. God uses circumstances to shape
our thinking in the way we should go. On our own, He knows we would avoid them.
We saw God at work more clearly as
we did our automotive dance in the street! In the will of God is the
best and greatest zone to be in though it may not always be the safest.
Unbelievers never grasp that because they do not personally know Yahweh, and
many believers struggle with it like I did, who make claim to know Him as Lord.
I hold no malice toward this unknown driver though my flesh wanted to break
free that night. God broke through reminding me that He is righteous and just
in all that He does. I can do one of two things with that information; I can
allow it to make me better or bitter. Trusting in God will always make us
better.
Something wonderful always emerges
from those flashes of sovereignty before our very eyes in the crucible. We take
for granted that God is in control at all times in all places; what a wonderful
and comforting thought that is. Even when we fail to pray; He’s got our back.
Even when we are not in agreement with Him at some point, by His grace and
wisdom God brings us back into the fold.
Indeed, the times they are a-changin’, and as believers we are all coming upon the signpost that is just up ahead – our next stop, the Glory Zone, and it is not imaginary! Think of it! At any moment, the rapture could take place in a flash based on the authority of God’s Word (1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thes 4:16, 17, 18). We need to be in agreement with God about everything in light of that, don’t we?
Before wrapping this up, let me
give you an update on something I said in Part 1, an FYI of sorts;
lemon-peppered wings and a raspberry and vanilla latte aren’t good neighbors….
<><
/\ Oh, Lord of lords and King of
kings, come quickly and rush all who love You far, far away from the
beginnings, the in-betweens, and the endings of all things human to our
heavenly home, the place of eternal bliss and all things God! Thank You for
those flashes of sovereignty down here that reveal to us that You and You alone
are God and that we belong to You. There is much we fail to see to be thankful
for; Your right to rule in our life in every
area, for one, in Jesus’ name, amen.
%20MG%20t-bkgrd%2060x44%20png.png){kind=small}
%20sunflower%2045x63%20png.png){kind=small}
 |
| End of Series |
