Written in the 1980s
“He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30b
This morning two believing ladies came to Barbara for a Bible study where she taught a lesson on the importance of thanking God in and for all things (Ps. 50:23). Barbara emphasized that only good things come from God, but at times He also allows Satan to bring along a seemingly bad thing so God can work some good from it in our lives.
I arrived home from teaching at the university at about 1 pm, just as they were finishing the lesson, so Barbara asked me to drive one of them, Nadia, down to the local share taxi stop because this was the first time she’d come by herself and she wasn’t quite sure of the way.
Since the main road was very busy, I drove to the other side so Nadia wouldn’t have to cross. I explained this to her and pointed out where she should wait for the share taxi. But, when she got out of the car, she began to cross the road; somehow she had it in her mind that she was on the wrong side. I was now waiting at the red light to cross and called her to come back and wait.
Instead of coming back, for some reason she hesitated and went first one way and then the other, not aware of a truck that was rapidly bearing down on her.
I could see the accident coming, but could do nothing to prevent it. The driver obviously expected Nadia to get out of the way because he just flashed his lights and kept coming, but she had her back to him, and then “wham,” he hit her. She flew into the air and landed in a crumpled heap on the pavement.
I shouted “Oh, no!” and leaped out of the car, running to her side. I was sure she was dead from that tremendous impact. However, she only had the wind knocked out of her and was conscious. With the help of others, I carried her to my car and took her to the hospital. She was spitting blood and moaning, while at the same time thanking me for helping her and apologizing for causing me trouble! It turned out that there were no broken bones, only bruises.
Such an incident is hard to thank God for, but he brought several good things out of this. The first, and somewhat comical, was that her crooked nose was straightened out by the impact!
More importantly, God used the accident to heal some broken relationships. Because Nadia and her family had become Christians, her brother-in-law and family had not been speaking to Nadia’s family for three years, which was a great grief to her.
But the brother-in-law sent his son to the hospital to see how Nadia was doing! Then two believing women who had been very condemning of Nadia showed sympathy for her in this situation.
Nadia herself was praising God for how He was using the accident even before she saw all the positive results. Not bad for a believer of only four months! How about us?
Prayer: “Lord, help me to also be a person who, in faith, gives thanks in all things so that you may be honored before men and angels. Amen.”
