Jesus Help Us

The ways of God are marvelously mysterious as He deals with us. Jus about the time we think we have Him and His ways figured out He does something that throws us for a loop. With that thought in mind I want to share a testimony that is still in the making.

Our second son Tanner has been praying for a vehicle. Weeks ago he and I sat down on the couch together and prayed about this matter. Our prayer session did not last long. We did pray sincerely. What happened next is nothing short of a miracle.

The next day I received a phone call that a sizable gift would soon be sent to me. Only days later I opened an envelope and held the answer to Tanner's prayer in my hands. Our whole family rejoiced that God had worked in such a dramatic and tangible way so quickly.

Tanner began researching vehicles and found an older one that had been restored. The old jeep had been rebuilt but had that classic look Tanner likes so much. We made the deal and I drove over to the metroplex to pick it up. I surprised Tanner at the end of school by picking him and his brothers up in that jeep. He beamed as he showed his friends. I continued to be awe at how God had put it all together.

Tanner experienced pure joy as he drove us all home later that day. He excitedly showed Brenda, who admittedly, was a little nervous about her son driving a jeep. As a father I also wanted Tanner to be safe and lectured him on the dangers and responsibility of driving a jeep. On the other hand, I could not have been more excited for it brought back memories of my first vehicle which happened to be a jeep.

I did not let Tanner drive it to school the next day because we wanted to make sure it was covered by our insurance and there was a threat of some bad weather. At the end of the school day both Tanner and Tucker stayed after school to work out so Turner and I went home. When it came time to go pick them up before church I decided at the las minute to drive the jeep.

It was loud when I cranked it with the dual exhaust. As I drove through the neighborhood I saw several men take a double take as Turner and I rolled by. I knew the jeep caught people's attention and I smiled as I thought about Tanner driving it .

We turned left out of our neighborhood onto highway 380 to head back to Paradise. We were driving about sixty miles per hour when suddenly I heard a loud noise, saw white smoke everywhere and lost control of the jeep. Before I knew what was happening we were skidding into the wrong lane of oncoming traffic.

I did not have time to voice any other prayer but to repeatedly say, "JESUS HELP US!" I corrected the wheel to get us back into our lane but over corrected and eventually we got back in our lane but drifted to the shoulder and skidded backwards off the shoulder and onto the grass.. At that point I knew I could not recover the jeep. Once the tires went from the pavement to the grass everything seem to happen in slow motion.

With my hands still on the wheel and still voicing my desperate prayer the jeep flipped. I saw it all. I never closed my eyes and saw the sky and then the ground. I saw the front windshield shatter. When everything settled the jeep came to a stop on its side with Turner's side up in the air. held in his seat by his seat belt.

When everything settled I accessed any physical damage to myself and Turner. Nothing hurt on me. I did not see blood anywhere. Turner said he was okay even though the seat bet was binding him as he sat strapped dangling above me in the seat.

Immediately several people came to our aid. It took some time for me to wedge myself out then several men helped Turner slop out of his seat belt. I expected one of us to be bleeding. I saw no blood on Turner and he told me he was not hurt. I had no blood or even dirt on me. We both walked away from that accident without even a scratch by the grace of God.

Some of the men noticed the problem. The motor had blown while we were driving puncturing the oil pan and spilling oil everywhere. This is what caused me to lose control. This all happened about 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon.  After realizing Turner and I were okay my thoughts next turned to I needed to call Brenda and hurry to get to church.

First the police came to make an accident report. The fire department came to treat the road for the oil spill. Eventually a wrecker came to tow the jeep.

My heart broke when I told Tanner the sad news that his jeep had been wrecked. He did not get mad. He did not complain. He did not become sullen. He handled the whole situation maturely.

 Turner did not go to church that night. The whole ordeal scared him and left him in a mild case of shock.

I instructed the boys not tell anyone what happened. At 6:30 p.m. by the sheer grace of God I sat at church to teach through the book of I Samuel as I have been doing for the past eight months. I never made reference to the wreck as I expounded the truth of I Samuel.

Later that night, I could not sleep as I relived that scene over and over again. I began to clearly see the hand of God in the whole ordeal. Firs,t I thanked God Tanner was not driving. I am not an expert driver by any means but I am definitely more experienced than my teenaged son. Secondly, I thanked God for no oncoming traffic when I skidded into the wrong lane. I shuddered when I thought of how easily we could have been in a head on collision. Next, I marveled at the fact that Turner and I both walked away from that wreck without even a scratch. Then, I give all glory to God that less than hour later God allowed me to be at church expounding His word and not at a hospital. Simply amazing.

It was not until the next day that I saw further evidence of the hand of God. That wreck happened in the only place on that highway where there was a large grassy area off the shoulder with no trees and no ditches. If it would have taken place anywhere else the wreck would have been significantly worse. I thought about how just moments before we flipped how Turner had his right arm out the window letting it be blown by the wind. How easily he could have lost his arm as the jeep rolled over..

I don't know why God spared us. I know other people who have lost loved ones in crashes like the one we were in. Why did not God spare us? Why did we not receive even the slightest injury other than marks from the seat belts? Our lives are not better or more valuable than others who were called to eternity after their crashes. Why did the shattered glass not cut us? Why were our bones not broken? GOD PROTECTED US. GOD ANSWERED THAT SHORT SIMPLE PRAYER I REPEATED OUT LOUD OVER AND OVER AGAIN, "JESUS HELP US." He did. He still does.

I am reminded of a scriptures. [Ps 50:15] Call out to Me in the day of trouble and I will rescue you and you will honor Me. I did not have time to voice a formal prayer. Yet the first thing that came to my mind and out of my mouth proved to be a prayer asking Jesus to help. I am awed that He was available and immediately came to our aid.

He is also available to you. In your troublesome moments He is available. He helps those battling cancer through the fears, surgeries, treatments, and at times even in the last moments of life as He ushers His people into eternity. He is available to the homemaker when keeping house and raising kids makes her feel she is about to lose her sanity. He is available to the financially destitute, the brokenhearted, to the burned out minister, and the senior adult living out the last days of their lives without their soul mate who died before them.

Jesus comes to our rescue when we are tempted by sin as He makes a way of escape. He is there for us to bring peace to our minds and hearts when all around us is chaos. He is there for us when we are so weary and heavy laden we do not know how we can possibly get through another day. He is there for us in the midnight hours when sleep will not come. He is there for us when we grieve the loss of a family member or dear friend. He is there for us when the doctor gives us a bad medical report.

In this life we are going to have trouble. You can count on it. You can also count on Jesus being there.

As I hva reflected on our wreck I have also thought about that song made popular a  few years ago, "Jesus Take The Wheel."  We all need Him to do that. As much as we think we are in control it does not take long for that myth to be shattered by the bitter circumstances of life. Even in those horrid moments Jesus is available to help us.

In less than an hour I will be driving the older boys to their early morning work out. I have done this Monday-Thursday this entire school year. It is easy to take life for granted. It is easy to take God's protection and blessings for granted. There will come in all our lives when we need to utter that matter of fact prayer, "Jesus help us." When that time comes He will. Praise and honor to Him for His help in our troubled times of need.