Sunday, June 8, 2014

Spared

"For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go."  Psalm 91:11

This week I was driving when suddenly I hit something very violently, causing me to lose instant control of the car. I crossed over the median past heavy on-coming traffic which was during rush hour and eventually came to a stop under a chain link fence. As I saw all the cars coming at me I became conscious of the fact I was going to be killed. It so happened that I didn't hit one car and I wasn't even hurt! It defies all human explanation. It was miraculous that no harm came to me or to anyone else. My life was miraculously spared. Motorists were spared. After I got out of the car which lay under the uprooted fence the lady who had been driving behind me came to me and said, “Look, that is what you hit.” It was the large iron cover from a manhole that had come loose. There it lay on the street. She kept talking about it being a miracle I was alive. Another man came to me and said, “I believe in God. I should have killed you. It is a miracle you are alive.” I was badly shaken but had no physical injuries. That day God was greatly magnified in my eyes. We talk about God being great but when He rescues in such a dramatic fashion one is left speechless, humbled, broken, and in awe. It has been interesting to observe how some people simply perceived it as a freak accident. Others knew there was a much bigger picture involved. Such people are able to discern what is happening in the heavenly realms.  Inwardly, I knew, without a doubt, that Satan was out to destroy me and end my life that day. But our times are in God’s hands, not Satan’s. God decides that time. When I lost total control of the car, God had not lost control for a second. No doubt angels were ordered to take charge during that disaster.

Anyone involved in Muslim ministry will encounter what I will refer to as “strange things”. They come in different forms and are often beyond human understanding; strange and bizarre. My parents experienced them throughout their fifty years ministering among Somali Muslims. Ed and I experienced strange incidents while in Pakistan and we have experienced them in Canada. They can erupt in any geographical area of the world, often come out of the clear blue, and can be violent and aggressive. They are meant to frighten us and make us retreat and destroy us and our faith in Jesus. Satan’s goal is to halt the spreading of the Good News.

 Perhaps you are in ministry among Muslims and are walking through a bizarre incident. The strangeness of it all can really affect our minds. You need to recognize the bigger picture. It is important to be vulnerable and transparent and call on brothers and sisters for prayer. Some will understand. Others will not. 

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for sparing my life! It was miraculous. You are a miracle working God, the same yesterday, today, and forever!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.