“From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD'S name is to be praised.”
Psalms 113:3
God is worthy of our praises. Sometimes we don’t easily recognize why we should praise God, but praise Him anyway. The shortest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 117, is about all people continually praising the Lord for His loving kindness. We all have reasons to praise Him every hour of the day. Here is one reason I will never forget:
It was a Friday evening and time to gather for choir practice at our local church. Damien went and picked up two of his friends and Leighton was going to follow them in his car. The young adults were happy to be together again after a long week of studying and other eventful activities. As it can be with young adults when they drive, they drive fast. They were not racing. They were simply being young adults who like to spruce things up wherever possible.
Leighton took the lead then realized a police officer was just ahead and slammed on his brakes. Damien was following right behind and swerved to the left to avoid hitting Leighton in the rear. Damien lost control of the car and hit a telephone pole. The car flipped five to six times before stopping. A friend sitting in the back seat was ejected from the car through the back windshield. Damien said, "I felt a force over me, pulling me out of the car. There was no one there, but with my hand on the steering wheel, I began to cooperate and got out of the car.”
Leighton ran over to where the car was crumpled up into a ball. Both Damien and his friend Roger got out of the car with minimal bruises. Suddenly they heard the police officer say, "What are you doing in the bushes?" The police officer was talking to Marlon, the passenger who was ejected on impact with the telephone pole. Marlon had no injuries, not even a bruise. They were all taken to the hospital and declared to be okay soon after. One police officer wanted to arrest Damien, but the officer on the scene said, "Just give him a few tickets and let them go home. They have had enough for one night."
My dear friends are amongst the living because God willed it to be so. Every time I see my friends, I'm reminded of that night long ago where three young men should have been dead based on the evidence of that crumpled-up car. However, Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), had other plans for my friends to live.
Call to Action
God reminds us in Matthew 10:30-31 that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God's eyes are even on the tiny sparrows and you should know He watches over you and your loved ones. So don’t forget to praise Him each day for life and His loving watch care. Praise the Lord!
All scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
