Have you ever had a close call, a brush with death or a life-threatening circumstance?
After a narrow escape, we think about what happened and why it happened. And the episode with the pirates reminded me of my own close call. One night in the 1980s, I was invited to a friend's house and would have automatically accepted the invitation. But the Holy Spirit told me not to go, so I called him to decline the invitation and told him why. My friend thought I had finally become a "religious fanatic."
The next day, my friend called and, in a shaky voice, said, "how did you know?" Turns out that the night before, he and his mom had been held at gunpoint by a crazy ex-boyfriend of my buddy's sister. The guy even stuck the gun in my buddy's chest and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire even though it was loaded. They were wrestling for the gun as the sheriff's department stormed into the home. The guy later told the cops he had intended to kill everyone in the house, and then himself.
So my friend and I talked about how I knew. I told him about how I was saved by turning my life over to Jesus Christ, the greatest rescuer of all. Then I told him about how Christians - and only Christians - have access to a Holy Spirit who counsels, comforts and warns us away from danger.
Sometimes, in dramatic ways, God gives us second chances. Scripture tells us what we should do with those chances.
Psalm 118:17-18 says, "I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death."
May you be in tune with the indwelling Holy Spirit, always attentive to his leadings.
And may you be a bout the business of recounting the deeds of our mighty God!
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