Little Miracle Man - The Day of the Accident

A Prophetic Word

Romans 4:20-22

²⁰ "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. ²² This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness" 

“I know God is real because He created the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, cars and blue jeans.”   That was the precious response my twelve year old son, Elisha, gave to his older brother, Josh, who asked “Mom, how do we know God is real?”  Nate, my husband, briefly glanced at me to smile and I smiled back.  I reiterated what Elisha said, “You can look at nature and all of the amazing parts of this world to see God.”  Josh then asked, “Mom, how do we know God wrote the Bible?”  …Another deep question from my thirteen year old thinker.  I told both of my boys that we can sit and discuss every prophecy from the Bible that has been fulfilled or the historical evidence confirming the stories in the Bible but I looked at both of them and said, "God has to become real to you!"  I told the boys when they go through a situation neither of them ever expected and they see God show up in all of His glory, power and might, that’s when God will become personal to each of them.  I'm not sure if it was the sermon we had just heard which prompted Josh to ask those questions or if it was just his curiosity but I am amazed we had such a deep and powerful discussion on our way to Sunday lunch. 

The sermon at church that Sunday morning was centered on Paul and his ministry.  Paul was persecuted, jailed, he faced death many times and yet he had the mindset that no matter what he faced he would look at it as an opportunity to preach the Gospel and to demonstrate the Power of God.  The scripture the speaker pulled from was 2 Corinthians 12:9 …”My grace is sufficient; for My strength is made perfect in your weakness…”  No matter what Paul faced he knew God, he knew the eternal purpose of what he faced was far greater than the moments of weakness and struggle.  Paul knew God was real.  He preached it and he lived it through every moment of his life.

What a good word!  Even now as I remember the message, I’m inspired by Paul’s unwavering faith.  How did he do it?  He obviously was knocked upside the head by the power of God on the road to Damascus.  But what made Paul stay true to Jesus when he was confronted with death?  Jail?  I’m not a theologian but when I read the Bible I am always looking for the application to my own life.  It is evident in the life of Paul that He knew God.  He knew God’s character.  He knew God’s love.  He never once hung out with Jesus like the disciples did yet, he wrote most of the New Testament.  He knew the love of God.  Everything he did was for the purpose of making the name of Jesus famous throughout the world, even in the middle of struggles I could never comprehend.

 

I’m so glad the Lord gave us the sermon about Paul on that particular Sunday.  I don’t think I could have had a better pep rally before the intense battle we were about to face. 

Sunday evening is usually family night for us.  Josh, our oldest, had made his famous spaghetti for dinner and then Josh and Elisha went to ride their bikes to the playground right down the street.  I sat down on the sofa to write down Old Testament Bible stories for family Pictionary.  I had decided we should play Pictionary using Old Testament Bible stories not because we are “that spiritual” but because I, personally, needed the reminder of the stories.  I had written several stories down on pieces of paper: Cain and Abel, Joseph and his coat of many colors, Daniel and the Lion’s den, and then I wrote down Abraham and Isaac.  I was compelled to re-read the story in that moment.  I pulled out my phone and began to read a brief synopsis of the story about Abraham’s unwavering faith even when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his only son.  Abraham knew if he had to kill his son on the altar as a sacrifice then the Lord was going to raise him from the dead.  His faith in the God of the universe was immovable.  

     

Ten minutes later there was a knock at my door… Elisha, my twelve year old little boy, had been hit by a car.