God is on my side

You know, you hear people say that a lot, mostly when they are trying to intimidate others or brag on their good luck. But God really is fighting for you more often than you give Him credit for.

Disaster was avoided today, but by less than one car-length. God was truely looking out for me and the other drivers around me. Here's what happened:

I was heading home from my parents' house after helping my mom out today, driving on the highway at 70 mph, when some girl in a small Honda car pulled out onto the highway from a side street right in front of me. I had to slam on the brakes. In fact, I did so so hard that my tires squeeled for about five whole seconds. I honked at the driver of that car, and she seemed to be slowly speeding up. I had to slow down from 70 to about 35 or 40 mph in less than five seconds. I came within less than one car-length of smashing her back end in and disabling my pick-up. A crash like that would have totaled both vehicles, and would have seriously injured us both.

Before you ask, no, it was not possible for me to move into the lane next to me: there were other cars there, and at the rate of speed I was travelling and braking, had I tried to swerve or switch lanes, I could have rolled my truck. I'm just thankful that God was there to guide me and make me realize this in the split seconds it happened in.

Yes, God was protecting all of us who were driving on that highway today. Had he not, several people could have been in the hospital right now.

See, I could say, "God protects me from stupid drivers," but then I would also have to say that God protects them from me, and that he protects them from themselves and others who might not react in the same collected way that I did.

Whenever I'm afraid or uncertain of something, I try to always remember my Confirmation Bible verse: Joshua 1:9. It says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

It seems to work in almost every situation in which I am uncertain or afraid of something or someone. I always know that God is on and by my side. He guides me and the people around me. And although we're not always the best at listening to Him, He protects us and only allows those situations and people into our lives because He has a plan.

I have shared that passage with a lot of people, and it is always a comfort. Who wouldn't want to know that God is always there? I mean besides our sinful nature, which always wants to believe we can do it all without God's help?

If we're honest with ourselves, we know that the only way we can survive in a world at turbulent and violent as our own is if God is there beside us, guiding us and leading us, and oftentimes carrying us. Let's face it: if we were in charge and didn't have our Christian faith, we'd be no better off than the agnostics, athiests and non-Christian religions of the world who deny the One True God. One has only to look at the Islamic nations.

I have a reading suggestion for you. (What? This from the woman who hardly reads any book that's not assigned to her to read?) Yes, and I promise you will find it intriguing, one you won't easily be able to put down. It's called "The Great Divide: The Failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West" by Pastor Alvin J. Schmidt.

When you read this and further your understanding of just how wonderful our God truly is, especially compared to the other religion in this world that has millions of followers, you will also see just how powerful it is to know that our God, the One True God, is always with us, no matter where we go or what situations may try to take us from Him. His love is so strong.

Thank you, God, for being with me wherever I go, and for keeping me safe in the shadows of danger and death. Amen.