I once read Frank Peretti’s book ‘Piercing the Darkness’. In it he had God’s angels cause a believer to be in a traffic accident.
I remember thinking, “God wouldn’t do that, would He?”
A few weeks ago I was on my way to
Temple Aron HaKodesh.
I take the same route every week.
But this one Saturday there was an accident at one of the intersections where I turn, so I chose to avoid the traffic and take a different way.
Stopped at a traffic light, I was reflecting how peaceful that morning had gone. You see, I had both my grandchildren with me that weekend. Now while I raised 6 kids, I am out of practice getting more than just ‘me’ out the door on time. But this morning had gone splendidly and we were actually going to arrive early.
The light turned green and the car in front of me started to move. I took my foot off the brake and BAM; I crashed into the other car!
With the grandkids okay, I went to see if the other driver and her kids were alright. She was on the phone, and in response to my question, she kept saying, “no”, they weren’t alright.
I headed back to my car to await the police and to pray. The other driver seemed to be taking a melodramatic approach to this accident and I was afraid.
After a few minutes, she got out of the car to inspect the damage, which we both saw was minimal. As we started talking, she shared that she was on her way to the hospital to visit her father who was having heart problems and wouldn’t listen to the doctors. This, on top of losing her mother two years ago, was what I was seeing as melodrama. Can I tell you I felt guilty for my mean thoughts?
I asked for her father’s name, explaining I was on my way to church[1]and would pray for him, and would ask the prayer team to pray for him as well. Her eyes lit up and we made an instant connection. I think the police and emergency people were surprised by our behavior when they arrived. She kept defending me, saying it was the driver in front of her who stopped for no apparent reason that caused the accident.
She called me about a week later. Turns out she had been in a dry place since the loss of her mother and needed revival. That accident rekindled her faith and set her back on the road God intended for her. She also reported that her dad followed the doctor’s advice and was improving. And she was excited to tell me how she had witnessed to a lawyer who kept calling her to get her to sue me. I told her I was glad I literally ‘ran into’ her. We both had a good laugh.
As for me, I was reminded of two things:
- One of my earthly father’s favorite sayings, “Accidentally on purpose” This was his usual reply to my defense of, “I did it by accident.”
- God is very involved in the details and He turns all things to the good.
Through this situation, God ‘accidentally on purpose’ blessed the both of us spiritually and has formed a sisterly bond that will last into eternity.
So, reflecting on the scene from Peretti’s book, coupled with my real life experience, I do believe God would cause an accident when it has a kingdom purpose for our good and His glory. What about you? What do you think?
[1] I felt it was easier to say ‘church’ than to try to explain I was heading to a Messianic synagogue.
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I once read Frank Peretti’s book ‘Piercing the Darkness’. In it he had God’s angels cause a believer to be in a traffic accident. I remember thinking, “God wouldn’t do that, would He?”
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