Blessed with a Near-Miss

A couple of months ago, I had a near-miss. You've probably had one along the way too. I pulled into an intersection in the left lane when another car from the far right lane decided to take a left and came into my lane. I'd like to believe they just didn't see me. Of course, I reacted as quickly as possible, but the distance between us seemed so tight that in my mind the accident had already happened. Police, tow trucks, and dealing with insurance companies. Yuk!!

Only by the grace of God, we never touched. And to this day, I'm not sure why we didn't exchange car paints. I bet for thirty minutes, I said over and over, "Thank you, Jesus. Not sure why You did that, but thank you."

This thought flashed through my head. Wonder how many other times He has intervened on my behalf and I never even knew.

God gets a bum deal from us humans. Bad stuff happens to us and we blame Him. Or misfortune comes our way and we question Him, "Why didn't you prevent this mess?" Or even worse, we make foolish decisions—outside of His will for us—and we whine to Him because we are suffering the consequences.

Oh, we can be grateful when we experience a blessing and give thanks, like with my near-miss or when a parking space opens up close to the store or we see His craftsmanship in nature.

As I read Philippians 2, I found Paul talking about this exact thing.

Verse 25, "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow."

Now in my mind's eye, that was a near miss. And Paul realized God's mercy for his friend and for himself, "to spare me sorrow upon sorrow." I believe Paul saw with spiritual eyes that God intervened in both lives and he experienced extreme gratitude.

That's what I want. Spiritual eyes or a mindset that is grateful for the blessings I see, but also grateful for the times my Heavenly Father intervenes, holds up His mighty hand and declares, "No!" Calamity and heartbreak averted.

I will never know how many times He closed the door on tragedy coming my way. Those interventions are a gift of love. Pure blessings.

Thank you, King of Kings, for all the near-misses you have prevented along my journey. May I always remember your unfailing love and protection over me. Increase my faith-vision to accept what is not seen. 
And feel free to say, "No!" anytime on my behalf.

Because I believe He's just that kind of God. 

What do you think? Had any near-misses you want to share? I'd love to hear your story.

Tammy Van Gils is a writer, blogger, and co-owner of S & N Paint Contractors, Inc. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Word Weavers International. In the Richmond area, she is a member of The Christian Writers Hub and Word Weavers Richmond. Visit her Facebook Page, Pinterest and Twitter @Tammyvangils.