oh I love rabbit trails and encourage them most of the time but have also been in trouble for taking them sometimes so I try really hard to find a balance.
Okay, story about Romans 8:28 if we add a few verses in context I think we can apply it to the current direction about fear of the Lord "28 And we know that in all things God works for the good have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
It's about testifying to the world that we live in the truth of Jesus purpose for coming, a purpose that sets the prisoner free from both sin and death.
So...leap day of 1980 I was driving to an appointment. The location had changed and I was horrible (still am

) with directions. I got lost. Ended up at a railroad crossing. I stopped looked both ways and since I didn't hear or see anything I proceeded to cross the tracks. Just as I got on the tracks, I glanced to the left....you cannot even imagine how large a train is until you see it barreling down on you. The train hit my car where the drivers door (my door) and the front fender meet. The car was thrown off the tracks and when it stopped moving I climbed out of the car and walked up to the road.
A bit of detail before I tell you the miracle part. The car was not just totaled but the only thing that could be salvaged was one tire. There was no room in the drivers compartment for my legs and yet the only injuries I sustained was a gash over my left eye, a small cut on my left ear and some bruises. Which sounds like enough of a miracle when you consider that there was a fatal accident at the same crossing a week before and a week after mine but the real miracle came later.
the people from my church all told me to draw close to God that He allowed this to happen to draw me closer to Him but no matter what I did, I couldn't get any closer to Him through this accident. For years I prayed that God would show me what He wanted from me through this accident. Well, one year sometime later He gave me Romans 8:28 as a promise for the year. So I tried to set my heart and mind on believing that promise no matter what I saw or didn't see.
One afternoon while at work a co worker and I were talking about a situation she had. I told her that I didn't have the answers but I had to hold and claim the promise of Romans 8:28 all things work together for good to those who Love the Lord to those who are called by His name. (if we look at the rest of the passage it is about a calling unto righteousness which removes our fear of judgment when in His presence) Okay back to the story. The co worker asked me to work for her that night and I did, the next day she runs into work and said, "I have to talk to you." I wasn't sure I wanted to hear of more bad things that were happening in her life but knew that God put me there for some reason so we talked. That is when she told me that that night I worked for her, she had borrowed a car from a friend and driven to a railroad crossing. She told of sitting on the tracks and waiting. Of seeing the train coming down the tracks...then, she told that in that moment she remembered my words, the promise of God and drove off the tracks.
See, the miracle is in what God does in our lives and through our situations not in the lack of injury. Scripture tells us that we will see greater miracles than the healings of the disciples. John 14:12...those miracles are miracles of the heart, they are miracles that glorify God in a new and amazing way. This is how we can know the heart of God...His heart is the good of His people and their testimony to the world of who He is. I was never in real danger in that car because God had a plan, I just had to be willing to endure the discomfort for a season so that He could preform a true miracle