“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
Psalm 91:12 ESV
My Mom was heartbroken over the sudden death of my youngest brother—killed by a drunk driver. It was devastating and shocking news. Quickly, my wife and I packed up our things and those of our three little girls, preparing to get on the road right away. It was a seven-hour road trip to Grandma’s house. Unfortunately, precious time had passed before we could start the drive, and now it was late afternoon as we hit the road.
Because of the lateness of the hour, it appeared that we were the only ones traveling so late at night. We were hoping to make it to Grandma’s house by sunrise. We saw nothing but a dark forest around us as we drove on the interstate highway. There was no moonlight in the sky, and the stars were veiled by multiple layers of ominous-looking dark clouds that seemed suspended over our position. Occasionally, the pitch-black darkness would be broken by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle on the other side of the interstate.
Two Hours from Grandma's House
We were about two hours from Grandma’s house when, suddenly, the right rear tire blew out. I pulled over quickly to the side of the road, assessed the damage, and quickly proceeded to change the tire. The process went smoothly until, halfway up, the jack broke. And now, with the vehicle suspended in the air, no matter what I tried to do, there was no way of getting it down. The situation was hopeless! So there we were, two adults and three little girls, on a dark, lonely highway, in the dead of night—alone, with no help in sight.
By this time, the middle child had awakened and asked me what was wrong. I explained that we had a flat tire and needed some help getting to Grandma’s house.
With a quizzical look on her face, she said, “Daddy, I’ll just pray to Jesus so He can send us some help.” And so, she did.
Going back to the problem, I realized I would need another jack that worked to remove the broken one.
Suddenly, a parade of twelve military Army vehicles appeared out of nowhere, moving at high speed past our position. Even though it was dark, I could see that they were Army jeeps and trucks. Where had they come from? We didn’t hear them until they were within sight, but as quickly as they came, they went. Up over the rise in the road, they disappeared one by one.
But then, the brake lights on the last vehicle lit up, and it reversed back to where we were. A man dressed in an Army uniform hopped out of his jeep, walked up to where I was standing, and asked if he could help. I replied in the affirmative. He examined the situation, retrieved a jack from his jeep, removed my jack and flat tire, and put on the spare tire. He asked if there was anything else he could do. I said, no. With that, he quickly returned to his vehicle.
The Pray & Faith of My Middle Child
Simultaneously, we both got into our respective vehicles and pulled off at the same time. Since the Army jeep was only a few seconds in front of me, I sped up because the children wanted to wave to the officer. We watched as his red taillights went up and over the rise in the road, and when we came up over the same rise in the road, the jeep was nowhere to be found. Five sets of eyes searched around, hoping to see where he might have gone. But he and his vehicle had vanished!
How could that be? We were surrounded by forest, and there were no exits—no access roads—nothing but pitch-black darkness in a midnight sky. It was then that the middle child blurted out, “God sent the angel to help you, Daddy.” We have never forgotten how God rescued us in our time of need.
Call to Action
Too often, we forget to ask the Lord Almighty for help in our time of need. Why shoulder our burdens alone? “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is looking for those whom He can help. Let’s make sure to ASK!
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
