Matthew F. Leighty
Executive Director

What do you expect when a crisis hits? I've thought about that question a lot since April 2007 because of a memory that keeps coming back to me.

At the time, I was serving at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind. I had flown into Albuquerque, N.M., on a Saturday because I was scheduled to speak the next morning at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell. As I drove along U.S. Highway 285, I briefly took my eyes off the road to check my map for an upcoming rest area. The spring winds out there can be fierce, and a strong gust caught my car. When I looked up, I was veering off the highway. In that split second, I realized there was nothing I could do to regain control except pray.

My car rolled and eventually settled, thankfully right side up, in a rancher’s field. Every window was blown out, front, back, and on both sides — all four tires were flat. The car was completely destroyed, and yet, I wasn’t hurt. I had only a slight mark near my collarbone where the seatbelt pressed against me. I totally expected I would open my eyes in a hospital, if not see my Savior in heaven.

I wasn’t the only one who expected the worst. A man and his wife were driving toward me about a mile down the road when he saw a big puff of dust in the distance. He knew right away it was a car, and he didn’t think there was any chance the driver survived. He stayed with me until the police and the tow truck made it out from Roswell, about an hour away, and he was so wonderful. The rancher whose property I “landed on” came to check on me, too. He showed me the fence post I had taken out on my way off the road and told me that if I had hit the one right next to it, it wouldn’t have given way. It would have gone right through the car.

Then came the blessings I never would have thought to ask for. The tow truck driver and his wife were so kind and dropped me off where I was staying that night. Back in those days, phone chargers varied from phone to phone, but his cord fit mine so I could let people know what had happened. A nice couple from Immanuel picked me up the next morning so I could still speak at the church as planned. And on Monday, the extra day in town allowed me to visit with the circuit pastors at their monthly gathering, which was totally unexpected but a great blessing.

As I drove back to Albuquerque, I retraced the route where the accident happened. There were cliffs and mountains along so much of that highway, so many places where a car flying off the road would have ended up much differently. I thought back to that short, desperate prayer on Saturday. God had answered with far more than I asked or could have imagined.

I don’t know why I walked away that day when so many people don’t walk away from accidents like that. Some of you have gotten the phone call no one ever wants to get, and my heart goes out to you. I won’t pretend to have an answer for why. What I do know is that it had nothing to do with me. As Martin Luther teaches in the Small Catechism, every good gift comes from God “only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me.”

And even if things had gone differently in that field, I would have opened my eyes to see my Savior. Jesus has gone through death and come out the other side. For all of us who are baptized into Him, death doesn’t get the last word.

Many of you have walked through your own crisis, maybe a diagnosis, the loss of a spouse, or a phone call in the middle of the night. We can’t know what tomorrow holds, but God has told us what to expect from Him. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b). He promises to be with us in our troubles, and in Christ, our sins are forgiven and eternal life is ours. When we know those promises ahead of time, we have something to hold on to when a crisis comes.

That’s why Worship Anew comes alongside people in their most challenging times. Our “Worship Anew” program brings the comfort of God’s peace through His Word and song. Our Care Ministry provides resources on grief and extends the love of Christ. And “Hope-Full Living”, along with this magazine so many of you dearly love to receive, brings comfort and encouragement that come only through the grace and mercy of Christ our Lord. I’m so grateful for your prayers and support that make all of this possible.

Whatever you are facing today, I pray you’ll remember that God is able to do far more than we ask or think, and He always keeps His promises.

“Abide With Me”
I fear no foe with
Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight
and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still if Thou
abide with me!
(LSB #878 v. 5)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

Ephesians 3:20

Above photo provided by Grace Lutheran Church: Stained glass hangs at the center of the Grace Lutheran Church sanctuary in St. Petersburg, Fla.