September 2, 2010
September 2, 2010
By Andrew Palau,
Luis Palau Ministries
No matter how many stories you hear, you never dream you will be the one in a plane crash. For me and my family, the worst came true last Christmas (2009). We barely escaped with our lives.
You may remember hearing about American Airlines Flight 331 that crash-landed in Jamaica. The plane skidded across the runway, broke into three sections, and stopped just a few feet from the Caribbean Sea. It was a terrifying disaster.
Me, my wife Wendy, and our three kids were all on board. (We were headed for a Christmas visit to Wendy’s family who reside in Kingston, Jamaica.) We managed to escape by climbing onto the wing in the dark and blinding rainstorm. From the wing we jumped down to the sand and, smelling jet fuel, we ran as fast as we could. We were finally picked up by a passing bus and taken to safety.
I came away with two black eyes, some cuts and some bruises. It was the scare of a lifetime. But we’re alive. And for that we are truly grateful.
Reflecting on this incident is just one more reminder that life is short. For us who believe in the Lord Jesus, we can take great comfort in God’s sovereign overruling of our lifespan as spelled out in Psalm 139, especially verse 16. As for those who don’t believe… well, I think of the 154 total people who were on that flight. I don’t know where each of them stood with the Lord, but I do know that all 154 had a near-death experience. Each came face-to-face with the reality that we will all die, and we just do not know when.
You never know when your time will come.
Did you know that every day 155,000 people die? 155,000 people! Whether in a plane crash, car accident, or quietly from illness, 155,000 people die each and every day.
That is staggering to me. And that’s why Dad and I do what we do as evangelists! It’s why our team exists. Because life is fragile. Because the end comes so soon. And because we want each and every person to hear about Jesus Christ before it’s too late.
I want to make every day count. I pray that you do, too. There are too many people who still need to hear about Jesus Christ! Together, we can take advantage of every day we are alive. We can share the Good News with people all over the world.
Please don’t miss your opportunity to seize each and every day to do something powerful for the lost and for God’s glory. We must be bold in our declaration of God’s Good News. We must make the most of our fragile, shortlives! The time is now. Let’s make evangelism a priority. Let’s unify in prayer, in support, and in encouragement for one another.
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I too was on that flight AA331. I was going ‘home’ to be part of a family reunion. We planned the Christmas family reunion, because we realized that we were having these reunions only at funerals. Many members of my family who lived overseas had already arrive in the island or were scheduled to arrive before Christmas. We wanted a reunion that was not a funeral. Had it not been for The Grace of God we would have had another reunion at a funeral. I know it was the grace of God that spared our lives. When I read about other similiar crashes I see where there were no survivors or very few Survivors.
There was much turbulence during the flight due to the weather condition. I ask God for the ‘Covering of the blood of Jesus’ over the flight like I always did when fly. I have flown in worst turbulence in similiar weather and did not have any fear of a crash.
However, I always have a special communication with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ when I am flying. I always feel so close to Him, when I am up in the sky. Travelling from Los Angles, I had to check on my hand luggage and forgot to remove the book I was planning to read inflight. So I had much time to meditated on the greatness and goodness of God.
In the last 10 minutes of the flight I was led into prayer mode by the Holy Spirit and was lead to sing the hymn ‘The Love of God is Higher than the Highest Mountain, Deeper than the deeepest valley, Wider than the widest ocean. I kept singing to myself and worshipping God through this song. A peace and calmness came over me, and the feeling that if I should die then I would go to be with the Lord. I felt the loving arms of Jesus around me emotionally.( There was nothing happening on the plane to indicate a possible crash, so I was not acting out of fear) I could not stop singing and started singing louder and did not care that the people sitting next to me or in front would be disturbed by my singing. When the plane touched down, I clapped. ( a custom in Jamaica to indicate thanks to God and the Captain for a safe landing)
Later when the plane could not stop and crashed, I realize that God was prepearing me for that ‘death moment’ and wanted to assure me that His love is ‘Higher than the Highest mountain,deeper than the deepest valley, Wider than the widest ocean..
I am convinced that it was the plan of ‘the enemy’ that, that plane should have ended in the ocean which is a natural harbour and therefore very deep. The darkness of night, and the slow response in dealing with our needs after the crash would have resulted in very few survivors if any.
It was Divine intervention that stopped that plane. All Praise and Thanks to God.