Don’t Worry
Dan Kunz
If you are a regular reader of these blogs, you may remember I wrote about sudden death several weeks ago. The point of the blog was always being ready because we don’t know “the day nor the hour”. As my friend’s stepdad used to say, “When the bus pulls up, you gotta get on.” A recent experience pointed out the opposite of those words of wisdom, “If the bus doesn’t pull up, you don’t have to worry.” Many people, especially in the “Covid days”, spent a lot of time worrying about something which may or may not happen. It’s perfectly fine, of course, to take precautions when it comes to diseases and being careful not to take foolish chances makes sense. That being said, some people spend more time worrying than they should, as if they could do anything to keep the “bus from pulling up” or they were in control of when they lived or died.
Last week I had my 1953 Chevy pickup truck at a friend’s house getting some body work done after I was less careful than I should have been. (Not good!) My wife took me to Adrian’s house and left. After chatting with Adrian and his wife for a while, I headed home. Note that I stopped at the end of his driveway, before turning onto the highway. I drove for two miles at highway speed and came to the T-intersection where I had to turn right to continue. As I approached the stop sign I noticed two cars coming from my left. I stepped on the brake pedal to stop and wait for the cars to pass on the highway. Imagine my horror when my foot went all the way to the floor! No brakes! The truck slowed somewhat but definitely was not going to stop. Fortunately, the first of the two cars on my left was turning, so both of them had slowed down. Because there was a row of trees on the opposite side of the T-intersection, all I could do was blow through the stop sign and turn right as hard as I could. As I slid across both lanes and onto the shoulder, the truck held and I made it around the corner. I pulled over to the side of the road and breathed both a prayer and a sigh of relief.
When I think about all the ways I could have died, it’s obvious God was in control of the situation. If those cars hadn’t been slowing down to turn, if the brakes hadn’t slowed me at least a little, if a car had been coming from the other way on the highway, if I had not been able to complete the turn and went into the ditch… “If the bus doesn’t pull up, you don’t have to worry.” Evidently, Jesus wasn’t finished with the mansion he’s preparing for me! When we look at all the cases of sudden death and we look at all the cases of “close calls”, it emphasizes who’s really in charge. Although I haven’t read it yet, Dr. Marc Siegel has just released a book titled, The Miracles Among Us. In it he details many examples of people who should have died but didn’t. The One who created the entire universe can certainly control what he created.
We need to be prepared to meet God at any time, but if he determines it’s not that time, we needn’t worry. Be cautious, be prudent, wear your seatbelt, but don’t think that you decide when it’s “your time”. As I sat by the side of the road, considering what might have happened, I had one recurring thought…Psalm 31:15 My times are in your hands.