Near Misses

The best moment of a Christian's life is his last one, because it is the one that is nearest heaven. And then it is that he begins to strike the keynote of the song which he shall sing to all eternity.  Charles Spurgeon

Have you ever looked back over your life and thought about your near misses?  What I mean by that is the times you missed getting hit by a car, or getting into an accident or you happened to move one way or another and disaster didn’t happen.

I started thinking about some of the near misses in my life where God saved me.  There was the time I was driving down the freeway to church and there was a car in front of me.  I was watching the driver in front of me and all of a sudden he swerved to the right.  I looked ahead of me and there was a tarp in the middle of the road.  It wasn’t just any tarp; it was one that an eighteen wheeler uses to covers its cargo. The problem was it wasn’t flat but was folded and stood about 3 feet high in the middle of my lane.  I swerved to the left and missed it by inches. 

There are red lights and stop signs I have run by not paying attention.  There was the hospital stay where the dose of medicine was too large and I passed out and the emergency medical team had to come in and revive me.

My husband told me about one he had many years ago.  He was at a golf tournament and a storm blew in.  He had been standing under a large oak tree but had moved away from it.  Soon after he moved lightning struck the tree and there was a man standing under it and a large limb fell on him and it killed him instantly.  Jerry had been standing in that spot just 10 minutes earlier.

God has a purpose for each of us.  We can either live up to what God’s plan is for us or we can squander it on things that don’t matter to our eternal life.  It is a scary thing to think that our last breath could be tomorrow, today or in the next few moments. 

I want my life to have meaning.  Not just meaning in the sense that I was successful or powerful or beautiful.  When I think of my last day on earth, I want it to mean something to God’s kingdom.  If the last thing someone says of me when I am laid in the ground is that she loved God and lived her life for Him, then every near miss was worth it.  I still have time, whatever God allows, and what I make of it is up to me.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I praise You for giving me this time.  Only You know when my last breath will be on this earth.  Help me to use it to tell others about You. If You can be glorified by something I do, I praise you for the opportunity.                   

Scripture: But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.  Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24