Topic: Evidence of God or just Luck

[blackdiamond]

This thread is for you to post stories that you have heard, or better yet, happened to you that show evidence of God (a higher power).  I realize that some people consider it luck...you deside.

About 10 years ago my grandpa, dad, sister and myself went to the grand canyon for a week long backpacking trip.  We had never to the trail head before and we arrived in the middle of the night.  My sister and grandpa got out of the van to use the bathroom before we crashed for the night.  They crossed the guard rail in front of the van in the parking lot and headed in the "wild".  My sister said that she didn't venture far past the rail, but my grandpa said that he went a fair distance.  When the sun woke us up in the morning we saw that we were parked on the canyon rim and the guard rail was literally 4 ft from the cliff.  My grandpa was very humbled because he knew without a doubt that he had gone farther than the cliff during the night.  I'm not sure how luck could have had any affect on this so I'm positive that for some reason God saved him that night.

I realize that this story is pretty amazing (especially to believers), but remember that simple things are just as awesome!

[*FFC*]

My mom and I were on our way home one fourth of July, dad and my bro's were in Mexico.  It was very late and we were both tired.  She remembers back and says that she slept the whole way home ( I was only 11, so of course I wasn't driving).  I was sleeping, and she was sleeping.  She insists that she felt this "calm" wash over her and she slept all the way home.  She swears to this day that our guardian angel was guidin the front of our car . 

[Rocksurfer]

My dad had the hood of his car pop open while driving 70mph on the freeway when I was a kid, said he could see through the hood and was able to pull to the side of the road. Do you think this counts, or do you think he was peaking under the hood? I thought he was Superman and he was using his xray vision.

[iNfErNaL]

Dude,how much space is on here for me to type?...I know for a FACT,I've been saved many times by GOD!...Ranging from driving through a whole intersection asleep,and hammered(drunk),while driving home from a bar called Margarita Beach,(I was about 23)to pulling my dead Jeep with a strap with my buddie's Jeep,both running 4 PSI all the way around,on the main HWY. @ Glamis,doing about 55 MPH,with about a 150 ft. drop to the right,with my brother(YOTAon40s) behind the wheel of my Jeep,2 girls in the back,NOBODY buckeled in,my brother makeing out with one of the girls in the back,not watching the road while behind the wheel,and yep,you guessed it,all drunk off our a$$!!!...I say,without the power of god,there would have been @ least 3 or 4 deaths that night.That was about 3 years ago...When I was 15 years old,I was with my friend Jonas,sitting on the back of his dad's truck,and a silver Hyundai rolled up,and the passenger started shooting.Had NOTHING to do with me,but he shot @ both of us,and we ran to the back of his house,thank god,neither of us got hit,but the wall we hid behind did...Then,when I was about 20,I was at girl's house,the neighbour's were having a party,and it got shot up just as this girl had walked me out,and locked the gate,the people that were shooting were in 2 cars,and one saw me,and I guess thought I was at the party,and shot at me.I hit the ground,and slithered to the other neighbor's yard(scared off my a$$),and hid behind a trash can,but the girl's wall got hit 3 times,and her car got hit twice!.Now before you go saying I live in the ghetto,those were 2 completely different citys,and aren't even close to where I live.I have a few other stories,all relating to partying,and drinking,that I can thank god for...I am now 28,still like to have a good time,but in a much safer way,and I allways have been a believer.

[iNfErNaL]

Got one more for you...Couple years back,I was at Azusa Canyon,and these two guys were playing around in two K5s.One got stuck,and the other went to go pull him out.They hooked a chain to the receiver on the stuck vehicle,and about a 40ft strap to the chain,and started yanking.At the same time,there happened to be a little boy,he was about 5,playing with some toys a few feet away from where this was takeing place.The boy's father told him to pick up his toys,and get away from there.Just as the boy picked up his toys,and stood up,the chain broke,and the strap swong around,and the boy dropped one of his toys,and bent down to pick it up,while the strap flew right past where his head would've been if he wouldn't have dropped,and picked up his toy a split second earlier.It all happened so fast,but at the same time,it was like it happened in slow motion...That was probably the most beautyful miracle I ever witnessed.It brought tears to my eyes then,and still does,to think that an innocent little boy playing with his trucks,could've lost his life in 1 second,had it not been for God.

[iNfErNaL]

One more,at Azusa Canyon(again),a younger dude got stuck pretty bad in a built k5, waaaaaay out in the mud,and his engine died...A couple BIG trucks tryed pulling him out(I'm talking DEEP mud here.I mean,if you weren't running BIG MEATS,and BIG POWER,you weren't getting out there)and no luck...Anyway,to make this story short,they hooked up 3 Chevys,and 2 Fords,all 1 ton big blocks with 44s,and one with 49s,all with harbor tug rope(about 14 inches in diameter),and started pulling,and at about the 4th pull,my buddy Randy(owner of Randy's Off Road),who was the one on the end of the ones pulling,had his pintle hook rip completely off his frame,and shot back with the rope,and hitting the very top of the k5's hood,smashing it back about 6 inches,and smashing the core support about another 2...Had that pintle hook shot back maybe 2 inches higher,that would've been the guys face,and his life!...You tell me...Luck?.A little...God?...Definately!.

[blackdiamond [OP]]

There must be more stories than this 

[BLACKDOG]

This may seem kinda stupid, but it surprise the heck outta me.  I was heading home from work, driving my truck, going across the Watt bridge in sacramento for those of you who knows where that is.  Anyway, the bridge is 4 lanes going each way.  I was in the "fast" lane, and it was still moving well, while the outter three lanes were stopped dead.  I was going about 45mph, seeing that I was gonna be slowing down soon, so I was coasting.  A lady in a little honda civic from the 3rd lane ecided not to wait, and pulled into the "fast" lane, about 30 feet in front on me. I slammed on my brakes, and slowed down to about 10mph, as she gunned it.  I have never stopped that quickly in my truck, and I have yet do so again, and I have tried.  As far as I am concerned, it is physically impossible for my truck to stop as quickly as it did.  The whole time, I knew I was gonna hit her, and was trying to make it as gentle as possible

Thank God

[blackdiamond [OP]]

Not running into someone is truly a blessing 

My next story could take days so I will only give the super duper short version of how my wife and I ended up together.

I first met my wife my Freshman and Sophomore years of college in Nebraska, I was good friends with her best friend but we just talked on a rare occasion in passing.  She was the topic of discussion in the dorm since she was always unavailable due to dating other guys.  I always thought that she would  be a terrific catch for whoever the lucky guy turned out to be.  I transferred to a school in Washington my Junior year and she we to Michigan.  We didn't keep in contact.  Sadly, a mutual friend (grade school family friend on mine and a high school friend of hers) of ours got a rare form on cancer and his mom was sending out "update" emails every few weeks.  I looked at the distribution list on one of the email because I noticed that I knew several of the people (friends from the past).  I emailed several of them including her (this was four years later).  We started emailing on a regular basis for several months and it turned out that she was now in school in California.  My aunt and uncle offered me a ticket to visit them in California for thanksgiving (several months after the first email) so I arranged for my cousin, my future wife (unknown to me) and another female friend from the college in Nebraska to go to Disneyland for a day.  The other girl didn't show and my cousin was very quickly a 3rd wheel.  It was like we had been best friends our whole lives.  I didn't realize it at the time, but she had been up the entire night before and should have stayed home, but she was already interested in me (I had no idea mostly because I'm clueless...engineer).  My cousin and I drove her home since she was falling asleep on her feet and wasn't safe to drive.  The next day was the only day since then that we have not talked.  We were engaged in 5 weeks and dated long distance for nearly two years until she finished her masters.  We have now been married for almost 9 months and it is awesome!  The story doesn't have all of the details, but there were way to many things that had to come together for luck to be the only explanation.  The lady that sent out the email that put us in contact actually had at least 6 distribution lists so we could have been on different ones and never known the difference.  God is good!

[germ]

Way back in the late 80's, I was struggling with the concept of God. I had been having a very difficult time with my last assignment in the Navy, and my wife suggested that I pray about it. I did one of those "OK God, if your real, give me a sign" kind of things and didn't think much of it.

The next morning, I was on my way to work. I had to go thru a VERY blind, hilly intersection at the end of my street. It was a rural area, and there was NEVER anyone there, so I always just kinda blew thru the intersection. This morning, in the freezing rain (Washington State), there was a guy on a fully dressed large motorcycle, who was turning onto my street just as I stuck the nose of my Landcruiser halfway into the intersection. It was a sure hit. He should have struck the right front of my cruiser, and then gone thru my windshield.

Instead, he went smoothly around my cruiser, and continued on his way without ever looking back. As I sat there, wishing I had clean underwear with me, I realized that God had just tapped me on the shoulder and let me know he was in fact real, and that he was watching me.

May seem like a lucky day for both of us, but there are just too many "coincidents" for it not to have been orchestrated. What fool would ride a motorcycle in freezing rain at 5:30am in January. Nobody (and I mean nobody) ever went down this street. I sat one saturday, and counted 2 cars in about 12 hours, and no one who lived on that remote street owned a motorcycle. I was probably 2/3 of the way into the intersection. I could barely stop. Forget about getting out of his way. Why did it happen in less than 12 hours from when I made my "put up or shut up" demand?

I was convinced that God does exist. It still took several years for me to really understand and develop a relationship with God, and I suppose I'll spend the rest of my life trying to perfect it, but that was the beginning. I'll post another "miracle" later.

Erik 

[BLACKDOG]

About year and a half ago, I commuted to school from my parents house in Vacaville CA to Sac State in Sacramento.  It was about a 45 mile drive, and in my exceeding brilliance, I signed up for tues. thurs. classes only, 1st class started at 730 and the last class at 6 in the evening, and I had 19 units  On my way back on night, dead tired, it was raining, and I was nice and warm in my truck, I completely missed about 12 miles.  It isnt in my memory   I dont know if I was asleep, or if I was zoned out, but I dont remember 12 miles of driving, and I was still on the road. scared the crap outta me, I took of my sweatshirt, tunred off the heater, and rolled my windows down.  I have no doubt God took care of me.

Years ago, driving from Altus OK to colorado Springs CO with my parents in their van, we had been cruising along for a while, no one had had anything to drink for a while, we had just had a pee break about 20 minutes earlier,but for some reason my sister had to pee.  My dad was irritated, but she couldnt hold it, so we pulled over at a gas station, and she went to the bathroom.  When we got back on the road, we drove about 5 miles before we came to a bad accident.  When we got up to it, we saw that it was a big rig vs. car, the big rig had run over some scrap lumber, and torn apart the two rear tires of the trailer on the drives side.  He lost control, and hit the car going west, sideswiping it.  The scary thing was, we had been follwoing that car, and if we had not stopped, we most likely would have been involved as well.  Seems like a coincidence, but if you knew my sister, you would know this wasnt the case.

Oh yeah, the lady in the car and the trucker both survived, thankfully

[blackdiamond [OP]]

I grew up in Colorado Springs.

I worked with a guy in high school who claimed his wife was abducted by aliens, his story was that she completely missed about 30 minutes of a night class...I always figured that she fell asleep  , but he was convinced.  He was a bit different, but maybe you were abducted as well    

[germ]

2 quick ones...

When i was 18, I drove a bob-tail across country for a friend. On some small road in Pennsylvania, I had to cross a bridge that was under construction. As i approached the bridge, i realized there was a semi coming the other direction. Because of the construction, he was part way in my lane, and i didn't have room to move right. There was no way to stop.    I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer and held on tight. When i didn't hear the crunch of metal after a couple of seconds, I opened my eyes to find that we had both made it across the bridge and were still alive. Whew!

4th of July weekend, 9 years ago, I was wheeling with some friends. Long story short, I ended up rolling my landcruiser 3 times side over side, and 2 times end over end. I wasn't strapped in, 'cause I was just going to pull someone out of a mud hole. I ended up on the ground, lying half way under the cruiser, with the left front wheel resting on my left shoulder (like a y: me-->y<--cruiser...hard to describe). Ended up with 2 broken clavicles and a bunch of scrapes, but otherwise fine. My wife was 6 months pregnant with my 1st child. Probably should have died in that one. When the wrecking yard brought my cruiser home, my wife almost fainted.  (still gives me people bumps to think about it)

Erik 

[MiniSimp]

Here is some evidence from this weekend....god wanted her dead

Woman gets hit by rock chunk
SUV-sized boulder piece falls at Pinecrest Lake, kills 42-year-old Modestan
By DARYL FARNSWORTH - BEE STAFF WRITER

Last Updated: June 12, 2005, 04:56:38 AM PDT

SONORA — A 42-year-old Modesto woman was killed Saturday when a large piece of rock broke loose from a huge boulder, hit the woman and knocked her into Pinecrest Lake, the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department reported. The rock slide happened at 11:21 a.m. on the north side of the lake, sheriff's Lt. George H. Ruckman reported. Kimberley Barnes died at Sonora Regional Medical Center shortly after the accident, Ruckman said in a press release. Deputies said Barnes was struck by a "sheared-off piece of rock the size of a sports utility vehicle." Barnes was at the lake on a fishing outing with her husband, 5-year-old son and some friends, Ruckman said. Witnesses reported that Barnes was on a trail a few feet above the lake's waterline when the rock toppled an estimated 20 to 30 feet down a cliff and hit her, knocking her into the water, deputies said. Barnes was quickly pulled from the water and attended to until she could be transported by AirMed helicopter to the hospital, deputies said. Barnes' son reportedly sustained a back injury in the incident but it was unclear if he had also been hit by the rock or was injured getting out of the way. Emergency personnel from the sheriff's department, county Search and Rescue, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry, a CHP helicopter and Tuolumne County Ambulance all responded to the lake after a caller on a cell phone reported the rock slide and said people were knocked into the lake.

Bee staff writer Daryl Farnsworth can be reached at 578-2337 or dfarnsworth@modbee.com.

[blackdiamond [OP]]

Actually, I would say the devil wanted her dead and God, in his infinite wisdom allowed it to happen.  I don't claim to understand why things like this happen, but this is a prime example of why we need hope for the future.

[crawlerdan]

i think that God has ways of turning what you beleive to be an awful situation in to something that you later are grateful for, this has happend many times to me, the biggest of which was me having to serve a prison sentence and learng later that by being in there, i adverted death on a number of occasions, plus, all things which we servive make us stronger and smarter

[germ]

Probably the most poignent example of God over luck: My children

Erik 

[crawlerdan]

amen to that

[87_Yotaman]

I've got a couple to tell.

When I was about 8 years old my mom had taken me to my doctor in Spartanburg, SC and we where on the way home just about to cross over the bridge to Lake Blalock.  All of the sudden I felt like I could    so I asked mom to pull over at the Bargain Host.  When we pulled overand I got out that feeling went away  So we hopped back in the car and got back on the road and right up ahead just about where we would have been if we wouldn't have stopped a truck with a 21 ft. boat trailer spun out all the way across the bridge. 

Again a week after I turned 16 I was on my way to school when I stopped to turn in.  The sun is really bad in that spot right there on 221 because the sun shines right down the highway in the mourning and right into your eyes, and i was sitting like this   
        School
            l           
           V
me ---> +

Well when I turned there was a car waiting to pull out where I pulled into and when I was almost pulled in a Toyota Corolla dead centered my back right tire and spun me compleatly around 3 times to where I was pointing towards the car.  It threw my driveshaft 35 ft up the road and totaled both my 1994 4x4 Pickup and the other car.  And it was by God watching me that neither one of us even had a scratch on us and that I spun around 3 times in the same lane without hitting the car waiting to pull out when I turned in close to begin with.

[blackdiamond [OP]]

When I was working construction (concrete forms) in the summers while in school I had an accident that could have easily cost me an eye.  we stored our metal rods (about two feet long and 5/8" diameter) in the racks under the front of the gooseneck trailers.  We used two stakes in the vertical position to allow us to overload the racks.  I was leaning under the gooseneck and pulling on one of the vertical stakes (something we did all the time) when it broke loose and the butt end hit me directly between my eyes with enough force to split the skin open.  I ended up with about 5 stiches (fairly minor), but it would have hit a half inch to either side I would have lost an eye.  God was looking (pun intended) our for me.

[germ]

When I was working construction (concrete forms) in the summers while in school I had an accident that could have easily cost me an eye. we stored our metal rods (about two feet long and 5/8" diameter) in the racks under the front of the gooseneck trailers. We used two stakes in the vertical position to allow us to overload the racks. I was leaning under the gooseneck and pulling on one of the vertical stakes (something we did all the time) when it broke loose and the butt end hit me directly between my eyes with enough force to split the skin open. I ended up with about 5 stiches (fairly minor), but it would have hit a half inch to either side I would have lost an eye. God was looking (pun intended) our for me.

I had a similar incident as a youngster. using a screwdriver to break the metal straps that held a coax cable to an antenna. The strap broke, and the screwdriver popped up and him me right between the eyebrow and the eye. Boy was I glad it wasn't worse

erik

[mr4x42u]

I had a friend who belived in god,said god would awnser prayers,,I called B.S,,I told him there was no god...I told him to eat a hand full of rat poison and pray that he would live,,,he is now dead,,,there is no god..

[BLACKDOG]

I had a friend who belived in god,said god would awnser prayers,,I called B.S,,I told him there was no god...I told him to eat a hand full of rat poison and pray that he would live,,,he is now dead,,,there is no god..

So death determines that there is no God?  God does answer prayer, he may not answer all prayers, and he may not answer the way that we would like them to be answered, but he does answer prayer.  Everyone dies, God's existence doesnt determine that, He just determines whether you go to Heaven or Hell when you die

[crawlerdan]

also, one of Gods largest gifts to us is the freedom of choice, we do not HAVE to beleive in him on earth, but eventually, all will in the end

[BLACKDOG]

also, one of Gods largest gifts to us is the freedom of choice, we do not HAVE to beleive in him on earth, but eventually, all will in the end

Very true Crawlerdan, very true

[mr4x42u]

So death determines that there is no God?  God does answer prayer, he may not answer all prayers, and he may not answer the way that we would like them to be answered, but he does answer prayer.  Everyone dies, God's existence doesnt determine that, He just determines whether you go to Heaven or Hell when you die

i doubt it,,,sounds more like luck but to each his own,,thats the beauty of it..If you want to believe in fairy tals thats your deal..We all need somthing to believe in,,,i believe I'll have another beer

[blackdiamond [OP]]

So death determines that there is no God? God does answer prayer, he may not answer all prayers, and he may not answer the way that we would like them to be answered, but he does answer prayer. Everyone dies, God's existence doesnt determine that, He just determines whether you go to Heaven or Hell when you die

Easy BD, God answers ALL prayer, but the possible answers are yes, no, wait or sometimes something that we can't see.

Like crawlerdan I believe that everyone will believe in God in the end.  At the risk of spoiling a future topic (that we discussed on PM) I believe that at Christ's 2nd coming he will only raise the righteous people from the grave and the rest will die.  The righteous will be in heaven for 1000 years reviewing the "records" of those that were not saved proving the justice of God.  After the 1000 years the Holy City will decent on the earth and everyone remaining on the earth will be raised to meet their creator.  In some way God will reveal the truth to everyone and the people outside the city will worship him as a just God before they are destroyed.  I don't believe that we have to fear eternal punishment for not believing in God, but we should be prepared to meet Him face to face.

I'm not sure if this is crawlerdan's perspective, but I would guess that his is similar.

[crawlerdan]

exactly my perspective, i appears as though someone else is familiar with the book of revelations. and here i thought i was the only one!
all i have to say is the truth is something that can change perspective from person to person, but God is the ultimate changer, you decide when your mind can change here, but after its all said and done, if you havent already done it, He will!

[BLACKDOG]

Easy BD, God answers ALL prayer, but the possible answers are yes, no, wait or sometimes something that we can't see.

Like crawlerdan I believe that everyone will believe in God in the end.  At the risk of spoiling a future topic (that we discussed on PM) I believe that at Christ's 2nd coming he will only raise the righteous people from the grave and the rest will die.  The righteous will be in heaven for 1000 years reviewing the "records" of those that were not saved proving the justice of God.  After the 1000 years the Holy City will decent on the earth and everyone remaining on the earth will be raised to meet their creator.  In some way God will reveal the truth to everyone and the people outside the city will worship him as a just God before they are destroyed.  I don't believe that we have to fear eternal punishment for not believing in God, but we should be prepared to meet Him face to face.

I'm not sure if this is crawlerdan's perspective, but I would guess that his is similar.

I think I need to read up on my Revelations   If I understand you correctly, if you die and go to hell, you are only there until Christ returns (essentially for the 3rd time) for his reign on earth, then you die?  can you find some verses for that?  I've been understanding that when you die, you do not cease to exist, but rather exist in Heaven or Hell.

[orygunner]

how come you religious nuts take every chance you get to corner people and shove god down their throats, keep it to your self, piss off!