It was one of the few times in life when God had specifically told me where he wanted me to go, which was Manning Alberta to work with my brother in the church there. I didn’t want this so I headed back to Winnipeg where I had been as that is where Linda was and where I wanted to be. I am giving you a very abbreviated version of a time in my life where I served God but refused to listen to His call, yes, so close but yet so far. The story of Jonah is very much like the story that I experienced on this occasion. All I remember about the accident is seeing the headlights of what was obviously a truck emerge out of that white blanket. Now you know why I’m glad that it was made out of steel. The car came to rest on the highway and I was trapped behind the wheel. There were three other Bible school students that were with me and none of them was hurt in any significant way. In a bit of a fog, knowing exactly why I’m trapped behind the wheel of a car in the middle of the highway I looked up and said, "I am sorry. I will go!"
I believe that at that time in my life it was important that the Lord intervene aggressively as he did. Yes I do believe he used that accident but at the same time he made every provision for me. In the few vehicles that were travelling on that very cold and stormy night were a couple of nurses from different vehicles who attended to me. It was so cold as the RCMP dealt with the traffic on the highway the one that was near the vehicle froze his cheeks looking after what needed to be done. Then there were those that cut me out of the vehicle and the ambulance who drove in that storm. I believe God had His hand all over me!
Making a long story short, it was a very close call over the next couple days, if you looked at it from the doctors perspective. But in the car as I gave up, surrendered to God and recognized that He really is the Master, I had peace that all will be well. I won’t trouble you with all of the details of the medical situation. When I woke up in the intensive care ward after going from one hospital to another and the first words my dad spoke to me were "WELL JONAH". He knew what I was supposed to do and he talked to me about it before I left. My dad was a surrendered man and knew what I needed. So off I went to the Great White North to a town I had no interest in being, but now I knew Who was really in charge!
I grew to love Manning Alberta I met some incredible people there and had the privilege to serve with my oldest brother. It was a time of pheasant hunting, duck hunting and chasing a grizzly in the back of a pick-up! God used Linda and I in Manning as she joined me there.
I still bare the scars from that accident on the TransCanada Highway, but for me they have become a reminder of who holds my life, who’s I am and who knows me and has a plan for me. Look at the scripture in Psalms.
'You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.'
- Psalms 139:13-16 (NLT)
Question: Are you serving God, but refusing to listen to His call in some specific way in your life? Relationships, finances, sharing your faith, addressing certain issues, reaching out with love, forgiving, etc.
Meditation: In silence and stillness consider this: Is there any one else that you can trust with all of your life including the good, the bad and the ugly, other than the one who gave you life in your mothers womb! Tell Him you’re ready to obey the call and then listen in silence!