Hugh Knowlton, a participant in a recent Listening to God cohort, shares two dramatic warnings he received from God.

When I was 21, I had recently taken a Bible class which taught me that the Bible is the Word of God and can be trusted. I had met the Lord when I was around 7 or 8 but my parents where not church goers, and I had no Bible teaching in the years in between.

Long Island Expressway Accident Averted

One summer day, three of my believer friends and I drove to Jones Beach on Long Island, New York to have a day of fun at the ocean beach. I remember driving my 1967 Chevy Nova station wagon which my parents had given me.

Photo taken from Over-Drive Magazine

On the drive home on the Long Island Expressway, I suddenly had a video clip run in my mind. In my mind’s eye I saw myself driving over a hill in the road only to see stopped vehicles in front of me and then driving on the grassy shoulder on the left to avoid hitting the stopped cars. I remember being a bit puzzled by this but continued driving.

Not more than one minute passed and guess what? I came over a hill in the road and suddenly saw that all the cars in front of me had stopped. I immediately swerved the car to the left and drove on the grassy shoulder. There was no way I could have braked and stopped the car before hitting the cars in front of me. That vision I received kind of programmed me to spontaneously react in the only way I did to avoid a collision.

Crushed Toyota Corona

In August of 1974, I was driving from Ohio to Connecticut (about an 11-hour drive). I had just taken a Bible class about the nine manifestations of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10). A lot of the class was about receiving revelation from God. I had someone with me on this trip whom I did not know well. She also took the class and needed a ride east. I drove several hours until I needed a break and then Joan took over driving. I was resting with my seat inclined and fell asleep.

After a while, I had a dream. I saw my 1974 Toyota Corona station wagon roll over several times. I woke up startled. I decided it was a bad dream and chose to ignore it. After falling back to sleep the same dream came again. Immediately the station wagon we were in violently rolled over several times on the left side of the road. I woke up in a cloud of dust with both of us, fortunately, alive and relatively unhurt. My wagon was totaled and looked like a shoe box crushed sideways.

Apparently, Joan was not an experienced driver and drifted onto the left shoulder and then overreacted to bring the car back onto the highway causing the car to flip.

Many people stopped and picked up our clothes. My three-ring binder with class syllabus and notes were blowing down Highway US80. Kind people picked up every page and to my amazement I was able to put it all back together not losing a single page!

The cool part of this story is that God showed my mother that something happened to me and I was in need. When Joan and I finally got to a hotel after going to a hospital to get checked out, I called my mom, and she immediately asked where I was. She was all ready to get in her car and drive to pick us up. My mom was not a believer, but that didn’t stop God from communicating with her. I guess that’s why he’s God!

Thank you, Hugh. Let’s learn to pay attention to God’s warnings!

Post photo from Pinterest

Maroon Chevy Nova photo taken from Over-Drive Magazine

Toyota Corona photo taken from Mecum Auctions