Matthew 8:23-27
“Oh, oh, ooh, ooh!” I gasped just before the impact sent us and our pickup several meters forward on the highway!
Jane and I were on the way home from Presidente Figueiredo after church one Sunday evening. It was about ten at night and we had just entered Manaus on the double lane highway. We had just come up over a rise and there was a pickup truck trying to make an illegal u turn on the road ahead. We had to come to a complete stop so the pickup ahead could do his maneuvering and move on. “This is not good”, I thought as we sat there in the middle of the highway. Just then I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw a headlight coming over the hill behind at highspeed. There was no time to even move out of his way. The crash sent us flying. The pickup that blocked the road ahead sped away.
A rush of thoughts went through my mind as I opened up my door to step outside. “Oh my, I’m sure that I have killed someone…was it my fault?” I ran to the back of my pickup and there about three meters behind was a big Harley Davidson motorcycle smashed to pieces. A pool of oil was forming on the asphalt from where it was pouring out of the crushed crankcase. Where was the driver? I couldn’t see him anywhere. I looked under the truck. He wasn’t there. He had completely disappeared. And then I found him; he was about fifty meters ahead of our truck, lying in a pool of blood on the highway. Another motorcyclist came to a stop. He too, was riding a Harley and was the friend of the man that hit me. He began to yell and scream at me. “What were you doing stopped in the middle of the highway. You killed my buddy. It’s your fault.”
How could this be happening? Just two minutes before we were peacefully driving home. Cars began stopping. Someone called the police and an ambulance. My mind was going in circles and the second motorcyclist was still yelling at me. I just kept quiet and didn’t try to defend myself. At that moment a lady driving by came over to me and said, “I know you. I saw you at the Federal Police the other day when you were in working on your documents. I saw it all happen. It’s not your fault. Here’s my phone number. I’ll be your witness if you need help.” I didn’t remember the police officer from the week before, but I was glad that she remembered me. All told, about five people gave me their phone numbers saying that they would testify on my behalf, if needed.
After a few minutes the man that had hit me from behind regained consciousness. What a relief! He hadn’t died after all. The ambulance came and he and his friend left. The police came and we told our story and they too, told me, “It wasn’t your fault.” Finally about one o’clock in the morning we were able to leave the scene of the accident and go home.
It turned out that the individual that hit me was a high official with the Amazon Electric Company. I called him up a few days later. He was apologetic and said that he would pay for all the damage to my pickup. He did and within a few weeks it was looking brand new again. I never did get to meet the person that hit me, he always avoided me.
One day the Lord Jesus entered into a ship with His disciples to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was tired after days of ministry and dropped off to sleep. All of a sudden, from out of nowhere there came up a great storm and the disciples were afraid. Waking the Lord, Jesus rebukes the storm and brings a great calm.
Matthew recorded for us in his gospel, “And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”
Matthew 8:23-27
Sometimes there are storms that arise suddenly in our lives. They are completely unexpected like the night we got hit from behind. Sometimes the storm might be a health issue, financial troubles or a myriad of other things. People today take medicine to settle their fears and emotions. Suicides are on the rise. One thing we tend to forget is that when we know the Lord, Jesus is in the boat with us in the midst of the storm. While the disciples thought that the ship was going to go to the bottom, they had forgotten Jesus words, “We are going to the other side.” When Jesus is in the ship, there is no need to fear! We can have peace in the storm.
Hebrews 13:5b “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
