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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Unavoidable Danger

You know those times where you see something coming and there is nothing you can do to stop it?  When you are literally stuck in a corner with no way out.  Well, you're not alone.  There was one experience in my own life a few years ago.

It was a hot summer day and it was time to head to work.  Being the pool junkie that I was, you can only guess where it was I was working; the pool.  Usually I would drive our little Toyota Corolla to work.  It was basically my car.  But, on this occasion, I found the car missing.  The curse of younger brothers!  Yeah, he borrowed my car thus leaving me the giant mammoth to drive (aka our Suburban).  The Suburban wasn't really that bad to drive.  It was just incredibly hot.  No AC=death in the summer time.  Slightly annoyed, I left for work. 
The drive from home to work was a fairly easy drive and full of the typical Utah construction zones.  I'll be honest, Utah is full of roads that never cease to be under construction.  One such road is Redwood Road.  I came to a red light and patiently awaited my turn to go.  While looking at my rear view mirror, I noticed a car coming up behind me in the distance.  Normal right?  Well, not this one.
As I was watching the car, I noticed that it was hitting every cone on the road.  Either this person was a Pacman master, or they were extremely out of control.  The car continued to hit all the cones and didn't show signs of decelerating at all.  There was a car in front of me and not enough time to try and maneuver around them.  The car was coming for me and there was nothing I could do.
It hit me.
There are things in life that are going to happen to us that we can't avoid.  We may even see them coming from a mile away and yet, we can't stop them from coming.  I saw the car.  I knew it was coming.  Could I stop it?  That would be a resounding No.  So what can we do?  Is there any hope?  Are we just doomed to the onslaught of horror in our sight?  Again, a resounding NO.

After being hit by the car and then seeing the outside of my mangled mammoth, I realized that my annoyance at having to take the Suburban rather than the small Corolla was a blessing.  Had I been in the Corolla, I would not have been so lucky as to come out of the accident unscathed and completely unharmed in any way.  I know that this was not just a mere coincidence.  I know Heavenly Father was watching out for me.  He didn't tell me to drive a different way or to just not go to work that day, but he did give me the protection I needed.

Someone is there to help us, give us hope, and protect us from the dangers around.  Our loving Heavenly Father has provided us a way to protect ourselves and prepare for the dangers that lie in wait.  That protection is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is our "Armor."
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day. …
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” (Eph. 6:11–18.)
Put on the armor and protect yourself.  Follow the Gospel of Christ and be ready.  It will protect you from the dangers you are facing now, the ones visible in the distance, and the ones far far away.  I know this is true because I have seen it in my life.  It will bless you.

3 comments:

Rin73 said...

It's true. Heavenly Father doesn't always protect us from trials. But as long as we put our faith and trust in Him, and we are doing the things we need to (keeping commandments, etc.), He will support us through our trials, and even prepare us for them. And as we remain worthy of our baptismal covenant, we will have the companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost. I am very grateful for that!

Trey Williams said...

I think you make a very interesting, and valid, point. God won't always magically whisk us out of harm's way, but there are always angels watching over us. :)

Jamie said...

I really like this post! God works in mysterious ways, I definitely have found that to be true. I enjoy reading your blog, I will soon be serving in the Santa Rosa California Mission soon! Hooray!

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