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The Incident at Whitaker’s Stand

Tuesday, December 6, 2005, 6:00 am. Clear … 26 degrees … snow on the ground … a great morning to hunt. My doe tag filled yesterday, I decide to go back this morning to a different stand for a buck.

Whitaker’s stand, as we call it, is a permanent stand built into three trees. You go up by boards nailed between two of the trees. I’ve done it many times.

I secure my rifle and make the 18-foot climb to the top. I get out a Surefire light to check the stand. Satisfied, I go to return the light to my pocket, and the next thing I know I am falling. I didn’t black out; I didn’t slip. I did have a backpack, and perhaps I lost my balance. I land on my back.

After some initial disorientation subsides, I try to get up. It’ll be light soon. But my left leg is useless. Later I learn my injuries consist of an impact fracture of my left femur at the ball joint, more than 8 broken ribs, and 9 transverse processes sheared off, some on either side of my spine.

Some Lessons

God brought some lessons to mind during my recovery. The one I share now is the brevity of life. Proverbs 27:1 says, Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. James 4:14 asks, For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

How well I realize that things could have been very different! I could have been crippled or paralyzed. I could have easily been killed. Yes, life is unpredictable and frail. I had no idea when my alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. that in two hours I would experience a life-changing event.

This lesson is the real point of this tract. In 2 Timothy 4:6, Paul testifies, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. He was ready. Ever since that day on the Damascus Road when he submitted to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Acts 9:1-6), he enjoyed the assurance that his sins were forgiven (1 Timothy 1:15;
2 Timothy 1:12).

I did not know what awaited me in the woods that morning, but I can honestly tell you that I, too, was ready. And not because of anything I deserve, but because I’d come to know the same Jesus as Savior that Paul knew.

I trusted Christ as my Savior when I was 17. I grew up going to church, knew John 3:16, and thought I was okay. But through the influence of some Christian neighbors, I began attending a church that preached the Gospel. I heard verses like Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:8: But God commendeth [demonstrates] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I accepted these truths but had no real assurance of heaven. If someone asked if I knew I was saved, I said yes, but the real answer was no. One day in July of 1971, God opened my eyes to the problem. What I had was head knowledge. I had never personally confessed my sins to God and asked Jesus to save me. I had never accepted the free gift of eternal life for myself.

I had learned Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Right then, I did that. I told God that I was a sinner and didn’t want to go to hell. I asked Jesus to save me from my sins. Ever since, I’ve enjoyed the same assurance Paul had. If He calls, I’m ready.

An Invitation

Since then, I’ve had many opportunities to tell people this about Romans 10:13:

Whosoever is big enough to put your name in.

Shall call upon the name of the Lord is simple enough for anyone to do.

Shall be saved is certain enough to take to the bank.

The real point? If you’re not ready for eternity, you can confess your sins to God and ask Jesus to save you. I did it walking down a lane. You can do it right where you are.

Copyright © 2019 Thomas Coleman  MagnifyThyWord.com

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