The Lord’s Wondrous Protection Make Me Narrowly Escape From an Out-of-Control Minecart

By Gen Shang

I am a coal miner. Coal mining is a relatively dangerous industry. Employees in coal mining are risking their lives anytime. People who don’t believe in the Lord are without help, and for them, every day is a dangerous day to worry about. But I am different, because I am a believer in the Lord, I have the Lord’s care and protection, and He is my comfort in my heart. I can call upon the Lord Jesus in danger, so that I can see His powerful hand has protected me all the time.

One night in July 1987, my coworkers and I were on night shift. Our group leader received the task and then we went underground. We needed to move the minecart from one area to another, and transport mined coal to designated areas. Shaped like large, rectangular buckets, the minecarts, 2 more meters long, 1 more meter wide, and 1 more meter high, ride on metal tracks. It can move fast or low, but if it is out of control, it would damage whatever it hit. If a person was hit by it, he could be hurt or killed. So the rule says no person is allowed to be on the railway when transportation is in progress. It only permits when manually loading is needed.

At two or three o’clock that night, it was so dark, and only the lights in the mine were on, and a few of us were working. A worker, about 6 meters away from me, was loading. To keep up the pace, I hurriedly went to shovel the coals to both sides. While working hard in the middle of the railway, that worker suddenly shouted, “Get out of the way. The cart has begun to decline.” Hearing this, I instinctively tried to leave the railway, but it was too late. The cart was only 2 meters away. It was impossible to avoid it no matter if I stood there or got down. It would be a death sentence if I was hit. I watched it rushing over, and immediately prostrated my body. At that moment, the cart already arrived in front of my feet. I was so terrified, because there was an iron dropped cone underneath the cart; if it crashed into my head, I would be definitely screwed. If that happened, what would my family do? In danger, I suddenly thought of the verse, “Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation” (Psalm 28:22). It reminded me to call upon the Lord! That’s right! I have the Lord; the Lord Jesus is my support. I felt like grasping the opportunity of a lifetime, and shouted, “My Lord, please help me. Lord, help me now.”

At that time, more wonders the Lord Jesus did occurred to my mind: He made the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead raised to life. I realized that man’s life is controlled by God’s hand, and God has the final say about man’s life and death. This gave me faith in the Lord and made me feel less afraid. I would put my life to God’s hands. The cart slid over my legs, my waist, and this knotted my guts. All I could do was keep calling upon the Lord. At that critical point, the cart unexpectedly stopped. It passed over my body, but didn’t hit me. I remained lying motionless, silent for a while, slowly coming back to myself.

The crisis frightened my coworkers. Seeing the cart stop, they immediately came to drag me out of there. After that, I still felt shocked: It was indeed the Lord’s protection. How dangerous it was! If the cart moved ahead another 50 centimeters, the iron cone, 3 inches long, would hit my head, and that would kill me. I expressed my thanks to the Lord in my heart. His actions were so amazing. When I called upon Him, the cart stopped magically. My coworkers saw me come back to life, they kindly asked about my situation. I was so scared and like a fool, never listened to a word they said. The driver felt so guilty and constantly said nice words and admitted his mistake. The accident happened because he was so sleepy that his foot touched the winch.

Through this experience, I deeply appreciated the authority and power of the Lord. In the past, I only believed the Lord verbally, but this event enabled me to see the Lord’s wondrous deeds, so that my faith to follow the Lord grew stronger. I would definitely die without the Lord’s protection. More importantly, I have gained the knowledge that God is the Master of heaven, earth and all things. Everything, whether living or dead, is in the hands of God. Thank God for His wonderful protection for me.