Racing Again

Our souls can be uplifted as we recognize, as Romans 8 teaches, that God is for us and that we have been made more than conquerors through Him.  He wants to do so much in our lives - to bring us into a saving knowledge of His Son, to work in our hearts so that we might reflect His glory, and to stand
with us to forgive us when we miss the mark. In 1st John 2, we can read this:
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

Christ is our Advocate; 1st Timothy 2 calls Him our mediator.  He stands between God and humanity, enabling us to have a relationship with our Heavenly Father, our Creator.  Through the cross we can come to know new life and through the cross we can have the confidence that our sins have been forgiven; that we have been given essentially a second chance, a chance at knowing real life, abundant life, that is eternal and transformational.

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God is able to do so much, and the Bible is full of stories of the expression of His power.  Take, for instance, Acts chapter 3, where we find that Peter and John had been used to heal a lame man.  Peter declared:
(12) ..."Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Good comeback stories can inspire us, especially when we see or hear that God may have been involved.

This past Sunday, as NASCAR made its return in a race that was run at Darlington with no fans, one particular driver lived out a triumphant chapter of the journey of his return to racing.

On February 17, there was a major crash in the Daytona 500, leaving driver Ryan Newman in a precarious position - literally.  Ryan McGee of ESPN writes:

In the crash, his car suffered a hard right-front impact into Daytona International Speedway's outside retaining wall -- an energy-absorbing "soft wall" SAFER barrier -- and went onto its roof, where it was hit by the car of Corey LaJoie, who went directly through Newman's driver's side window. That launched the car back into the air before it slammed to the asphalt and rested on its roof, Newman hanging upside down in his seat belts while track safety crews arrived to extract him.

He was placed in a medical coma and blood had to be fed into his heart.  It was uncertain whether or not the driver would survive.  But, as McGee writes: "...seeing his children and that walk out of the medical center are his only memories from his hospitalization."  Newman said, "That tells me God was involved...I was blessed in more ways than one. I feel like a walking miracle."

Sports Spectrum reported that:

While talking to the media, Newman referred to the head injury he suffered as a “bruised brain” and acknowledged just how improbable his recovery was.

“Everything aligned perfectly for me to be alive and here with you today,” he said. “There were multiple miracles that aligned for me to walk out days later with my arms around my daughters.”

That article contained a tweet from the driver, in which he said, "I’ve gotten though [sic] the majority of cards and want to thank everyone for their prayers after my crash in Daytona. I know I’ve been blessed in so many ways."

Newman finished 15th in Sunday's race at Darlington and 14th in the Wednesday night race.

Writing for the Greensboro News-Record, Nancy McLaughlin stated:

The accident got me thinking about the preparation before they climb into those high-powered cars.

In 2004, just off the track at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, he talked to me about pre-race NASCAR church and time with the chaplains of Motor Racing Outreach before Sunday races.

She also wrote, concerning interaction with an MRO chaplain prior to races:

"When he stops by, he says 'we don't want anybody to get hurt, have a safe day, use your talents to the best of your ability,' " Newman said of one-on-ones that come with the clergy who visit in the moments before the races. "It definitely makes it a lot easier to focus on what we need to do. I know that my day might go the same way without him, but it just relieves my mind."

This wonderful story can remind us of some simple principles.  Ryan Newman has been given a second chance.  We can remember that we are here on this earth because God has given us a chance at life, a life that He intends for us to live for Him.  The most important decision that a person can make is to give his or her life to Christ; once that decision is made, He expects and empowers us to walk in His ways.  So, we have a chance at life - don't blow it.

We can also consider the second chances we have been given.  Because of the cross, Jesus has come to bring us forgiveness - a new start, the chance to break free from the past and enjoy the glorious future He has prepared.   When we sin, when we blow it, we have an Advocate who stands with us, to whom we can confess our sins.  He calls us to repent of our sins and enjoy His newness of life.

Throughout this life, we can live day by day in expectation of what God will do.  That means we can recognize the possibility for the miraculous.  We know that He is all-powerful and will work in and around our lives so that He is glorified.  So, by faith, we can rise above the fears and doubts that may beset us so that we can exemplify what it means to follow Him.