Testimonial

This week I don’t have a focus verse, instead I am going to give a brief testimonial.

Last weekend I was in a motorcycle accident. It happened so quickly that I didn’t really have any time to do much in the way of prep or avoidance. I had to rely on what I knew and what I had trained and prepared for, I didn’t have the luxury to think about what was going to happen. Fortunately I had had some good instructors and I had practiced and thought about events prior to them happening. Also during the crash, I had something better than gear or prior preparation “just in case,” I had God. Without Him I would not be able to write this devotional let alone be walking or coherent.

I started my ride, leaving my apartment in full riding gear – helmet, armored jacket, armored riding trousers, riding boots and gloves. I also started with a prayer, asking God to protect me during the long ride and that His will be done, no matter what. I prayed His blessings over my bike and His care over my safety. After the accident, the responding officers looked over the accident site and told me that I was lucky to be as uninjured as I was, that my wearing full gear and some luck had protected me. You and I know better. It wasn’t just my gear - in fact I’m certain that God put the idea and impetus to make that particular ride (in the midst of the heat of summer) in full gear. If it wasn’t for God, I would likely not be here, but bundled up in the debris of my motorcycle that was left behind on the road and on the curve.

It was the mercies of God that had the first responder and witness be a towtruck operator. It was God’s grace that the responding officers were so understanding, and His great faithfulness that accompanied me every inch and second of those three and a half hours and couple hundred miles from my departure to my accident. I walked away from that accident, which had both the tow truck operator and the responding police officers shaking their heads at just how I survived such an accident.

God is good, God is faithful, and He is my steadfast companion, just as He is yours. It is His ability and not mine that shines forth in the dire circumstances of my life. It is how much I have tried to be more like Him and to follow in His steps that determines how I react when times get tough. The same thing applies to all of us. It isn’t just me, but it is also you. Last year I mentioned that most of the time we never know when God intervened in our lives. This was one of those times there could be no misunderstanding that it was only God’s intervention that prevented things from being worse.

This week lets be more aware of God’s moving in our lives. While you hopefully will not have nearly the dramatic example that I have, you will have examples of your own of God’s work in your life as well as His accompaniment through the darkest and most dangerous moments you experience.

I pray that God will bless you with wisdom and healing, with understanding and with His manifest presence throughout all the things you go through in these coming weeks.

[Just to be clear, I'm posting this, but Carter is the one who wrote it. Carter's internet is spotty, so he emailed this to me for me to post.]