Always Faithful: The Car Wreck

Psalm 91:4

He will cover you with His pinions (feathers), and under His wings you may take refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and wall.

There is someone I want to introduce you to that is very special to me. Meet Gina Smith, my wife of 35+ years. One thing you need to know about Gina is that she has a deep and abiding faith. She has walked with Christ for many years and still today is a growing believer, faithfully committed to God’s Word and to God’s church!

But like all of us, Gina has had her faith tested, and it is in that test I share with you today that she began to grasp the faithfulness of God, even as a child. This story, which is really God’s story, centered around a car wreck when she was 10 years old. Even in this traumatic event, she experienced the faithfulness of God.

Gina had just turned 10 years old and was in an automobile with her mom and younger brother. She was seated on the passenger side of the automobile when suddenly the passenger side of the car was struck by another driver. The damage was extensive and Gina was badly injured. In fact, when her mother first saw her, Gina was not responsive and her mom assumed she was dead. After a short while, however, Gina regained consciousness and was pulled from the car by a passerby who had just completed training as an EMT. Her face was damaged by broken glass from the crash. In addition, the battery from the car had exploded and her small face was covered with acid. Her vision was blurry from the battery acid and her small cheekbone was also covered with acid.

However, the most extensive injury was a deep cut on her face, a severed blood vessel that flowed profusely. There is much more to this story including a lengthy hospital stay, several plastic surgeries, and scars from the injury. But for Gina, when she sees those scars, she doesn’t see hurt, injury, or pain. She sees God’s faithfulness. She holds no bitterness, she carries no shame, for those scars remind her of the scars of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His life for us on Calvary’s cross. Those scars are a reminder that God, even in the face of a traumatic injury, is always faithful and, therefore, He is always trustworthy.

Over the years, there is a scripture passage that Gina has clung to that speaks of God’s faithfulness. Isaiah 43:1 - 3 says, “But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your Creator, Jacob, and He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God…”

There are probably not enough words to describe the trauma that Gina, as well as her mom, dad, and brother went through as a result of the automobile accident and subsequent surgeries. Yet today, unless you knew this story about Gina, you really would never even know about the trauma. While the scars do have a slight presence on her face, you really can’t see them. For me, her husband, I am overwhelmed by her beauty. Not just her outward beauty, but also her inner beauty. Those scars produced deep faith in her life.

Have you experienced some trauma in your life? You may not have experienced a car wreck, but your scars come from another kind of wreck - family dysfunction and pain, broken relationships, lost opportunities, personal failures, or some other trauma.

If that is you - don’t miss this! Those scars mark the story that God is writing in your life. Oh, I don’t mean to say that He caused that trauma and pain. After all, we live in a sin-wrecked world, where pain is real and is felt by every person in some way or another. But I do mean that those scars are part of His story in your life. What story? The story that God is faithful, even in life’s suffering, pain, and trauma.

Remember Psalm 91:4, “His faithfulness is a shield and a wall.” Today, I encourage you to turn those traumatic events, those scars, from your life over to the Lord Jesus for the faith story that He is writing about you.

I look forward to sharing another faith story with you next week. Until then, remember, “He remains faithful, He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13)