Have you ever asked "What if?" 

by Paul Heil

When Jonathan Martin of the Martins left Nashville at 2 a. m. April 27th headed home to Arkansas, he had no idea what was ahead. Having driven alone all night, about 8 a. m. he made a left turn in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and rear-ended a dump truck. 
Jonathan really doesn't remember exactly how it happened. "I remember having in my mind to make some phone calls and things... And the next thing I remember is gravel flying everywhere. 
The accident broke his right knee cap (requiring a cast) and inflicted cuts and abrasions on his head and hands. Jonathan's Ford Explorer Sport Track fared worse. It was demolished. 
The seriousness of what might have happened only "sank in" later for Jonathan when the state trooper told him that as a trooper for many years he had never seen an accident as bad as this one in which someone was actually able to walk away from it or even talk about it the same day. Most such accidents, he said, put people in the hospital for months. Many don't make it. 
Jonathan knows Who was protecting him: "I have been very blessed." 
This reminded me of a time when I was in college. I had worked literally all night helping rebuild the college radio station and then drove home (about 20 miles) in the morning. I was groggy from a lack of sleep. What makes this memorable to me is suddenly "waking up," starting to drift off the expressway. (They didn't have rumble strips back then.) Wow. That was a real eye-opener - literally and figuratively. call something like that a "what if?" moment. 
I remember a case in 7th or 8th grade when I was walking home from school with a friend. We were busy talking. I wasn't paying sufficient attention and stepped out to cross a street, but he grabbed me and pulled me back just as a car zoomed by. What if....? And then there was the time riding my bike when.... Well, you get the idea. 
Have you had such "what if?" moments in your life? Of course you have - probably many of them. What if God had not been protecting you? What would have happened to you? 
But He was protecting you. And He will continue to do so as long as that is His will. We should pray with the Psalmist, "Do not withhold your mercy from me, O Lord; may your love and your truth always protect me." (Psalm 40:11.) 

(This article excerpted from the free weekly Gospel Greats e-mail newsletter. Paul Heil hosts the weekly Gospel Greats syndicated radio program on WXAN and KMHM.)  For airtimes on WXAN and KMHM, see the program schedules elsewhere on this website.)