Proverbs 21:1

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

The words in the accompanying picture describe what might be said when a “God Wink” occurs: “Sometimes I just look up, smile and say, ‘I know that was You God! Thanks!’” You can’t work out the mechanics of a “God Wink” by logical examination of the facts…..except to maybe say it had to be just a coincidence! But if there is God in heaven as the Bible describes Him, then a “God Wink” is more than a coincidence!

Here is how King Solomon, the writer of Proverbs 21:1, perceived God: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like rivers of water, He turns it wherever He wishes.” It is not only the king whose heart is in the hand of the LORD, but as it says in Hebrews 4:13, “…there is no creature hidden from His sight, for all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” He knows us all through and through!

But our featured Scripture further states that God, by His hand, turns the direction of life’s events as He sees fit, “…like rivers of water…”! But rivers can be mighty obstacles for man to deal with. And changing their course can be a mammoth project. But God created the world and all the surrounding universe! Changing the course of a river is a small work compared to bringing into existence all creation!

So ordering the details of a “God Wink” is not difficult for the LORD!

One day, about fifteen years ago, I took a walk with my dog. At that time I was walking five miles every day, usually in the cool of the evening, and my route often took me on a circular path that included walking over a mile on a seldom-used railroad track. The track crossed a deep cut in the landscape caused over the eons by a stream flowing towards the Youghiogheny River. The trestle over this cut was about three hundred yards long, and the rock-strewn floor of the cut was ninety feet below. The trestle had no safety fence on its sides, and the ties were spaced about eight inches apart. I had taught my dog to cross the trestle and we had traversed it hundreds of times.

I left our house and walked down Van Meter Road along the River to the sharp turn that connected with Darr Road, then up a steep hill about half a mile to the railroad tracks. As I approached the crossing, I saw an older car parked off to the right side of the road, and the driver’s door was hanging open. But no one was around. “Strange,” I thought. “Who would go off and leave their car with the door open?” To the right of the crossing, the track ran straight for a quarter mile, the direction I was going. I looked down the track and saw in the distance a man walking alone. I picked up my pace and started to catch up to him. I called out, but he didn’t turn around or answer. I got closer and called out to him again. This time he turned around and acknowledged me. I caught up with him and we walked together.

I can’t remember his name though he told me after I introduced myself. He was a tall black fellow who appeared to be in his 40’s. I asked how he was doing and he began talking:

• He hadn’t answered my call the first time because he was partially deaf.

• He had lost his wife to a fatal disease that took her life a few months before.

• Recently he had lost his job.

• He was about to lose his house.

It was then that God spoke into my spirit: “This man is going to the trestle to jump off and kill himself. Talk to him.”

• I asked if he was a Christian, and he said “Yes, but I haven’t been in church for a long time.”

• “Do you know that God still loves you?” He didn’t answer.

• “It says in Romans 8:39 that nothing ‘…shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’”

• “I understand you are going through hard times, but God has not given up on you. Jesus said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you….I am with you always, even to the end of the world.‘” (Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20).

• “He will get you through all this if you trust Him. I don’t know how, but He will. Of this I am sure.” And I told him of a couple of tragedies that occurred in my own life in which the Lord somehow worked things out.

We continued walking the tracks. We came to the trestle and walked over it. At the far end he said to me, “I guess I had better be getting back.” We shook hands and I told him I would be praying for him. I watched him walk back across the trestle, praying he would not jump off! But he reached the other end and continued walking down the tracks, around a corner and out of sight.

I never saw this man again! But I believe God had me come along at just the right time………to save a man from a terrible suicidal death!

What ‘coincidental’ “God Wink”
does the Lord have in store for you?