In February, 2013, my friend asked me to make a few sticks of furniture for him, and then gave me the key to his house so that I could go there at my convenience; I readily agreed. In the beginning, I could make furniture for him and perform my duty in the church as well. However, after a period of time, I gradually lived for money. Every day I calculated how much work I could do, how long it would take to finish, and how much money I would earn. As I was eager to finish the work and get paid, unconsciously, my heart became distant from God. Even when attending the gathering, I still had these things in my heart; once the meeting finished, I would hurry to my friend’s house to make furniture. Only after suffering a car accident later did I come to my senses …

On March 15, 2013, I hurried to my friend’s house after the meeting as usual, and thought to myself: I’m early today; I should seize the time to make furniture so that I can finish soon. When I arrived at the place across from my friend’s house, the road was blocked by various vehicles, and the traffic was moving at a crawl, so that I had no chance of crossing the road. I guessed there must be a traffic jam or an accident in the head of the line. In anxiety, I could do nothing except wait, and so half an hour passed. Watching the teeming traffic, I felt so anxious that I walked back and forth restlessly, and thought to myself: I seldom come here earlier, but I’ve never expected to encounter such a terrible jam; it’s worrying! A few more minutes passing by, the traffic finally began to thin out. Seeing this, I waited for my chance to cross the road. When I saw there was some distance between a bus and me, I immediately took this opportunity to cross the road. As I rushed to the middle of the road, the bus suddenly arrowed toward me; I was scared out of my wits, feeling weak all over; because of inertia, I slipped and fell backward, and then hit the ground hard and lied on the road. The bus then rolled rapidly on close by me; before I could draw breath, a big van, coming out of nowhere, was rushing at me; at that moment, my mind went completely blank, and my body lost all feeling. I tightly closed my eyes and thought to myself: Today I shall certainly die. Then, I heard a loud bang …

I cautiously opened my eyes, seeing that one of the front wheels of the van was only twenty centimeters away from my leg. Frightened, I sat up slowly, feeling a little dizzy, and found there was nothing wrong with my body except some scratches on my arm. At this sight, I offered thanks to God with emotion: “O Almighty God! Thank You! Thanks for Your protection! I never imagined that in such a dangerous situation I could be intact and still alive. It’s really Your wondrous deeds.” At that time, the driver jumped off the van; he put his head in his hands and it seemed that he couldn’t bear to see me knocked badly mutilated. When seeing me sitting on the road, he was pleasantly surprised, and immediately asked me: “Sir, are you OK? Do you feel any pain?” I replied: “It’s fine. I only got some scratches on my arm.” Hearing this, he let out a long sigh. Many people came around me, talking about the accident; one said: “It is Heaven that protected you!” Another said: “You might not know how terrifying it was just now. I’ve never thought you could be alive. What a miracle!” And the other said: “I’ve never seen such an event before. The van is so long, and its head went up half a meter high when the driver braked; you’re right beneath the van, but intact. That’s odd!” The driver said with feeling: “I’ve been working as a driver for twenty more years; it is the first time that my brakes worked so properly, and I felt as if there was a wall stopping the van. It’s truly Heaven’s protection!” At last, the diver pressed 100 yuan on me, telling me to bind up the wound in my arm. When driving off, he, shaking his head, still looked surprised.

After I heard these words, my heart couldn’t calm down for a long time. On the way home, I kept praising God’s wondrous deeds: “O Almighty God! Thank You! Today I genuinely see Your almightiness and sovereignty. The non-believers all said I was lucky; the driver said there seemed to be a wall in front of the van blocking its way. O God! I clearly know that if not for Your wondrous care and protection, I would have been crushed under the wheels. How could I be alive?” The more I pondered, the more I felt God’s authority and power are so great, so wondrous and unfathomable.

After returning home, I saw God’s words say: “His deeds are omnipresent, His power is omnipresent, His wisdom is omnipresent, and His authority is omnipresent. Each of these laws and rules is the embodiment of His deeds, and each one reveals His wisdom and authority. Who can exempt themselves from His sovereignty? And who can discharge themselves from His designs? All things exist beneath His gaze, and moreover, all things live under His sovereignty. His deeds and His power leave mankind with no choice but to acknowledge the fact that He really does exist and holds sovereignty over all things” (“Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst God’s Management”). “Almighty God, the practical God! You are our impregnable fortress. You are our refuge. We huddle under Your wings, and calamity cannot reach us. Such is Your divine protection and care” (“Chapter 5” of Utterances of Christ in the Beginning).

From Almighty God’s words, I truly appreciated: God’s authority and power are everywhere and at all times. God has always been watching over and protecting us with His authority and power. Thus each of us has been able to survive beneath His gaze until the present. Only God is our sturdy support, our only reliance and ever-present help; only He can save us from disasters. Thinking back to that period of time, I completely indulged myself in money, and my heart strayed far from God, and even worse, in order to earn money, I nearly lost my life. At the moment of life and death, I came to know: Only God can save me, while money cannot. No matter how much wealth or how high status I possess, all this is nothing but fleeting clouds in the face of disasters; if I lose my life, what’s the meaning of my pursuing this? In pondering this, I fell down before God and prayed: “O Almighty God! I’m grateful for Your protection and compassion. Through this car accident, I came to realize that my life is so insignificant and fragile, and indeed precious, and I even more see that money can’t bring me anything; if I lose Your care and protection, what’s the use of possessing great wealth? O God! I’m only willing to commit my remaining life into Your hands, submitting to Your orchestrations and arrangements. I’ll seize the rest of time to pursue the truth diligently, and fulfill my duty as a created being to repay Your love and salvation.”

All the glory be to Almighty God!