On 5th of May at around 8.15 p.m. while coming back from New Delhi I met with an accident. The highway was in pitch darkness and suddenly one tractor with only one light came right at our car and before I could swerve to the left the trolley of the tractor hit the right side of my car and the door of the car flew out on the road and our car stopped all of sudden at the same spot. I saw death staring at me menacingly. I was stunned but my concern was also to see if my fellow passenger was alive and not hurt. I wanted to know if I was hurt or not. Thankfully apart from the showers of broken glass pieces all over my body and some almost imperceptible scratches there was no injury even though the right side of car was totally destroyed. We both thanked the Lord for His mercy. I had feared the very worst as the impact was enormous and the noise was deafening.
But then this accident has raised a question. Before we started our journey we had sincerely prayed for safety and alertness on the road but even then we met with an accident. My question is “What happened! Did God not hear our prayer or we really did not fully believe in our prayer” These are difficult questions and do I have an answer? I believe I do not have adequate answer but what I write below may help you to face such trouble in future with some spiritual preparedness.
During and even after the accident my prayer was ‘Lord, Let thy will be done’. It is not a fatalistic prayer because I am not resigned to my fate but when I pray this prayer I have put my whole life in the hand of God who He loves me. He is not some fuzzy idea but a person and so He is totally aware of everything in my life and knows what I have been going through. He is eternal God and so He sees all things from eternity in perspective. He is reliable at all times. This is the God of the Bible and your God.
When this accident took place and even in the past with some unfortunate situations I have been shattered and lost temporary equilibrium but I have never questioned the goodness and wisdom of God or doubted in His almighty ability to save me. I know God loves me and that is all I need to know. I just curl myself in the everlasting lap of God and relax. I know under me are the everlasting arms of God. As a result despite swirling storms all around me I find security in God who is able to do more than I ask or think.
When some unforeseen disaster engulfs you and you cannot control the situation just do the following and your pain will ease a lot and you continue to dwell in the love of God even while going through difficulty.
– Read and meditate on the Word of God particularly Psalms for consolation.
– Pray that your love for God be never deemed but actually let it grow in your heart.
– Know that sad incidents make you ready to console those who go through disaster like you have gone through.
– I always see life’s unfortunate happenings with the view that worse could have happened. Right after a day or two there was a great disaster in Mynamar and this brought a different perspective of my little accident. I have not gone through their situation.
– Be close to God’s people who in the days of your trouble will visit, offer practical help and pray for you. Within hours of my accident my church folks were there with a jeep to help me and take my car to the city. Their faces and help offered me the most needed joy and consolation at that time.
– If you are a preacher particularly a pastor the difficulties of your life will make you very acutely aware of the hurting people among whom you minister every day and you will be able to share God’s Word with the needy people with great sensitivity. With personal experience of loss and even failure you will be able to go close to the hurting and the fallen and encourage them.
Prayer: Lord, when we pray ‘Thy will be done’ then help us to just relax in you and know that you know all that happens around us. I know I will never understand certain things but teach me to trust you.
Republished in new layout on 8/20/2013
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Thank you for sharing this!
written by Bhojraj Bhatta , May 13, 2008
I have always gone through your devotionals, and they have always been inspiring one ways or the other. Lessons learned from our personal experiences are the ones that make us and touch others. Praise God for the protection! Worse could have happened, and we will never know what difference our prayers must have made!
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