ALWAYS BE READY FOR A MIRACLE!

Some years ago while serving as a missionary to Europe, I lived in a small town just outside of Zurich, Switzerland. The bank we used was in the next town, and to get there I had to drive down to the road that ran along the lake to navigate the few kilometers it took. On one particular day, it was after a heavy snow fall, and the roads were covered with snow packed down by the cars and trucks. In the mornings, and especially along the lake, moister would make the road very slick.

I was in a line of cars leaving the town and noticed that several cars just ahead of me were slowing down to make a right-hand turn onto a street going to a factory. Just as we reached the street where the cars were turning, the car ahead of me pulled out into the left lane as if to pass the last car turning in. I instinctively assumed that he would go straight ahead so I steered left to follow him. All of a sudden, he threw on his brakes and swung back to the right in order to turn down the street with the other cars going to the factory. When I hit my brakes to avoid hitting the rear end of his car, I immediately saw that my car would not stop in time so I steered further left to avoid a collision. I breathed a sigh of relief as I barely missed his bumper.

That was until I looked up to pull back over into the right lane. That’s when I saw this huge orange machine with a front-end scoop staring me in the face. Again I hit my brakes because the angle of my car would not allow me to steer right without going into a slide. The operator of the scoop-loader also put on his brakes, but we both met head-on. The big scoop was turned upward and about two feet off the ground, so when the front end of my car hit it, it was pushed down and sandwiched under the scoop with the rear end of my car off the ground. Thank the Lord I was not going at a speed where the crash would have been severe and resulted in injury.

I looked up through my windshield to see the driver of the machine staring down at me with an alarmed look on his face. I opened my car door, got out, and looked up at the machine operator, who had also exited his cab, and said to him, “I didn’t expect for us to meet like this!” He smiled when he saw that I was okay, and responded with a laugh at my lame wit. It wasn’t long before the police arrived and I told them my side of the story, which the machine operator confirmed. The patrolman wanted to call a wrecker because my front tires were flat on the ground and it looked like my axle and steering were damaged for me to drive the car.

At that moment I felt the Holy Spirit urge me to tell him it wouldn’t be necessary because the car would be okay once the front-loader pulled back. The policeman looked at me as if I were joking. He asked me how I expected my tires to fill with air and my steering to be okay. Without hesitation I said, “Because God will fill my tires with air and fix my steering.” The policeman rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “I’d love to see that!” So I looked up at the machine operator and asked him to back away. He looked at the patrolman and the cop signaled for him to go ahead. As God is my witness, when the scoop-loader pulled backwards off the front end of my car, the tires filled back with air, and looked just as they did before the collision. The policeman blinked his eyes in disbelief. Then he told me that it would be unsafe for me to drive since he was sure the steering was damaged. So I opened the car door, got in and moved the steering wheel back and forth. To his surprise, the wheels responded. By now he was shaking his head even more, and told me to follow him back to the police station so he could observe my car in his rear-view mirror to see if the wheels were wobbling.

When we reached the police station, he got out of his car still shaking his head. We went upstairs and he made out a report which I signed. As I was leaving, the patrolman said to me, “Reverend, I’m not a very religious man, but after seeing this it has totally changed my mind about God.” I shook his hand and told him that sometimes God will do anything to show people who doubt Him, that He is for real. I walked out of that police station with two strong feelings in my heart and mind. In my heart I was thanking God for who He was and what He could do. In my mind I was saying, “Lord, I hope you don’t put me on the spot like this too many more times and then tell me what to say that requires a miracle.” But when I got in my car and headed back toward the bank and passed the very spot where the accident occurred, I changed my mind and told the Lord I was ready to be part of any miracle He wanted to perform to demonstrate His reality and power. After that incident, I witnessed God doing many more miracles and it gave me a thrill each time to be a part of them. – Dr. Robert R Seyda