GOD IS IN CONTROL, MR. C.

From dodging rattle snakes in West Texas to dodging drunk drivers on the Interstate, I have seen God's hand at work. Accidents happen... the enemy is running around like a lion... seeking whom he may devour. If I asked you... each one of you probably could testify about an accident that nearly took your life. As I reflect on my life, I certainly remember many incidents over the years where I know God handled the situation in which He could and can handle.

I also realize that I am one of thousands (actually millions) who realize God kept me (us) from being fatally injured or killed.

It is so true... God is in control... but, old Satan is so bold.

Satan is after you and me. The more you love and cling to God's Word, Satan is looking for ways to get to you.

My life has been a challenging life... for my Father, mother, my Sherry... and my God.

I truly have lived on this earth longer than Satan intended.

There is the old wives tale, or just a notable quote... "A cat has nine lives." I want you to know... I have had more than nine and hope God intends for me to have a few more to extend my life.

From dodging rattle snakes in West Texas to dodging drunk drivers on the Interstate, I have seen God's hand at work:

1. At 3, an accident in Stephenville Texas could have easily taken my life... I hit the windshield of our 1941 Plymouth when a vehicle intentionally ran us off the road and we hit a tree. With no seat belts back then, I was standing between my dad (driver) and my mother. Praise God, I had no major injuries. It could be why I am a little crazy today (don't laugh).
2. At 8, my older brother and I were hit broad sided (on the passenger side, my side) by a vehicle going about 35 mph. When I woke up, I had been flown from the car and was on the opposite side of the car where I was sitting laying in the street. I was injured, but it could have easily taken my life.
3. At the age of 16, the metal pole in which I was using in a track meet (Monahans, Texas) broke. I came down on the broken end with the top half still in my hand. Because I rolled to the right as I came down on the jagged end, the pole did not puncture through me. I had a deep cut, but no major injury. I finished vaulting with a bandage on left side of my back. I borrowed a competitor's pole to complete the vaults.
4. At 19, I was working on a construction project when a 10 pound sharp piece of angle iron dropped from above and landed where I had just been standing. The angle iron stuck in the ground and I thank God for moving me a second before the projectile hit the ground.
5. At 20, I mashed my finger and cut it nearly off while I was hanging over the side of a building (4 stories) on a construction job. I climbed down a ladder with blood streaming from my finger. I reached the supervisor's office and then passed out. God's grace is sufficient.
6. At 25, I went to sleep at the wheel on Hwy. 82 barely missing a semi-truck. The driver was honking and I swerved my vehicle (a company car) and landed in a farmer's field. The car never turned over and I drove out of the field uninjured.
7. At 35, after a bicentennial trip with my family, I became very ill. After an extended time in the hospital and being closed to death, the diagnosis for my illness was Typhus (probably from a tick bite while in the mountains in Tennessee). The Doctor of Internal Medicine had treated a patient with this in the past and he knew exactly the medication I needed for this dreaded infection. After receiving the medication, I was out of the hospital and home within 4 days. Praise God... He was not through with me yet!
8. In 2003, I was diagnosed after a minor surgery with carcinoid cancer. Normally, carcinoid cancer is not found until the first pain and then it is too late. The physician who oversaw the CT scan to find the carcinoid tumor in my body was the first to say, "God is watching over Gerald Cumby." He said it was a miracle as to finding the cancer cells in the tissue that was removed in the minor surgery (umbilical hernia). That same physician/surgeon did the surgery within a month of finding the cancer. The carcinoid tumor was found in the ilium area. He removed my right colon, part of the transverse colon, 8" of my small intestine, the gall bladder, and my appendix. God is good. His mercy is forever!
9. In 2010, I had a puncture of my small intestine just below my stomach. The digested food from my stomach LEAKED into my body cavity. The doctor saved me at the last minute from having a major problem by pulling me from the prep area where I was to have surgery to repair the tear and stated, "If we go into surgery, we might tear the intestine even more than what it is now. Let's see if it might heal on its own." It did and God received the glory for saving me again.
10. In 2013, I was shot at while driving over a bridge in Fort Worth, Texas, at night. Evidently, the shooter missed because he miscalculated my speed. He missed by 4' and the bullet hit the opposite side of pickup truck... head high. The police verified that the hole in the truck door on the passenger side was indeed from a high-caliber bullet. It must have been a random shooting, but God gets the credit for me driving 10 miles over the speed limit. Oh, well... God gets blamed for about everything. Praise God for His patience.
11. 2018, while going through another minor surgery (major abscess on my back side), I came home with a triple by-pass.

So... as you readily see, I have had many near misses throughout my lifetime. I did not even mention about me nearly falling off my house to my vehicle hydro planing WHILE DRIVING into a major back-up of traffic and God just took over and brought me to a stop in a lane about 4' from the back of another vehicle.

All in all, I have found, without a doubt, "GOD IS IN CONTROL, MR. CUMBY."

I loved the T.V. show, "Happy Days." The characters were the Fonz, Ritchie Cunningham, Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, and others. Fonzie called Mrs. Cunningham "Mrs. C"... and Mr. Cunningham "Mr. C."

That is where I get it when I think of God saying, "I have it in control, Mr. C." That's me, Cumby... Mr. C.

How can I influence/encourage you to receive something positive from this lesson?

Follow this:

• God is in control of time, Mr. C...
  
  We live from day to day and we don't have complete control as to having positive or negative things to happen to us. Our choices can sometimes dictate the way our day goes. Satan tries to influence. But, GOD IS IN CONTROL OF TIME, MR. C..
  
  
• God is control of the present and the future.
  
  He knows everything that is going on. Satan doesn't (He is not omniscient), but he tries to influence through our weaknesses of which he has figured out.
  
  Past... it's gone. But our future, we can work with God... or not work with Him.
  
  Please remember... He's got it. I constantly remind myself... "GOD IS IN CONTROL OF THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE, MR. C."
  
  
• God is in control of our eternal destiny.
  
  He has provided for a wonderful future for us and a home in which we will absolutely love.
  
  Our choice, accept God's plan or not.
  
  The eternal blessings God has provided is available and God wants us with Him.
  
  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Believe it! There is no other way to God's Kingdom... Heaven. Trust Him today! I know God... He's got my back!
  
  GOD IS INDEED IN CONTROL OF OUR DESTINY, MR. C...

ACCIDENTS HAPPEN. LIFE HAPPENS. "WHETHER I LIVE OR DIE... GOD'S GOT IT AND HE IS IN CONTROL, MR. C"