A few days ago Cheryl and I were driving to an RV dealership to trade our camper in for something smaller. We had already made the deal, so we were delivering our old camper and picking up our new one. We were in heavy traffic on the south side of Dallas when all of a sudden a tire from another vehicle rolled right in front of us and was heading down our lane the same direction we were going. I don’t know where it came from, it just showed up. At first it was going the same speed we were, but then it started slowing down. I was pulling a large trailer with cars on either side of me, so I could not swerve to miss it. I was braking as hard and fast as I could, but was not slowing down quickly enough. We were about to run over this very large tire when at he last second it veered right just enough for me to narrowly avoid hitting it. While I didn’t see it, Cheryl said the guy driving a pickup next to us, who was also pulling a trailer, gave us a thumbs up!

I said a quick thank you prayer while I waited for my heart to quit racing. And my mind started to think how fortunate I was to not have an accident. Two Psalm passages occurred to me.

Psalm 91:11–12 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Psalm 31:14–15 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.”  My times are in your hands.

Even as I did not see the guy give me the thumbs up, I did not see the angels that pushed that tire out of my lane. I am so grateful for God’s care and those angels who must put in a lot of time watching over me to keep me safe. And I am confident that my life and times are in the hands of the one who created me, redeemed me from sin and death, and made me holy by bringing me to faith in Jesus. I also live with the conviction that when I die, my life and times are still in His loving hands.

I have things I want to do and plan to do while I am still here on earth, but I am also prepared to go and be with Jesus when He is ready for me. I mentioned that to Cheryl the other day, and she said she was not ready for me to go just yet. I know what she means and how she feels. But I also know she is just as prepared as I am because she had placed her faith and life and confidence in the hands of the same loving God.

Romans 14:8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

I pray you have this faith and confidence as well.