There have been numerous instances in my life when I have had to put my whole trust in God for divine guidance and intervention. I knew from my Bible that as a child of God I have direct access to God, and I need to trust my heavenly Father. Jesus Himself emphasized this point when He told His disciples not to worry about anything, for the heavenly Father knows they need all those things they were anxious about. One of my favorite New Testament passages is Luke 12:22-30 about a worry-free life. I have tried to lead one as much as possible.

Almost anyone can pray in a crisis situation, but how many can trust God in a crisis? How many can keep calm in a seemingly hopeless situation? I learned early in life that trusting God fully is what every Christian should practice. Praying without trust is wasted prayer.

Let me give you a few instances where I had to let God work out the seemingly hopeless situations. Early in November, 2006, my wife and I had to fly to India from Raleigh, North Carolina to attend her mother’s funeral. Tickets were speedily booked through a connection in New York and were to be sent overnight by FedEx to our house so that we could leave the same day. But the next day we waited and waited, and the tickets did not arrive at our door. Some phone calls to the ticket agent and FedEx revealed that the tickets had indeed been delivered, but there was an address error.

I went to check at the address they gave, but no mail could be found. It was already noon. Without the tickets our trip would be cancelled. I refused to worry and entrusted the whole situation to God. My two sons joined in the search, and finally at 1:00 p.m. my younger son found the ticket envelope. It had been underneath the front door with a tiny bit sticking out. He pulled it out and found it contained the ticket. So we left Raleigh later that day.

I have had several other similar close calls. Refusing to panic and leaving the matter with God, He has always proven faithful.

Back in December, 1976, I was in Illinois with family and without a job because my research grant at Southern Illinois University had stopped. We lived on unemployment benefits for a while and then it ran out. I had a wife and three small children to feed, but not a penny in the bank. I couldn’t leave the States because I had applied for a green card. Even though I did not know what to do, I did not panic.

For Thanksgiving we visited a close friend in Pittsburgh who had been with me in Seattle while we both were doing our Ph.D. program. This friend learned of our predicament and a plan was hatched: write a resume and give it to a top Westinghouse executive who attended the church they went to in Pittsburgh. So after the church service we saw this executive who graciously took the resume. Then we left Pittsburgh and stopped in Indiana where my brother was doing his doctoral studies.

While in Indiana I received a phone call from the Westinghouse executive’s assistant that there was a job opening in a Westinghouse large power transformer plant in Indiana. The assistant wanted to know if I would be interested in an interview for the job. I had no background on transformers, but went for the interview. The engineering manager there wasn’t sure what I could do there as a chemist, but soon learned that I could be of help in a new materials testing lab. So I got the job as a development engineer.

In ten days we moved from Illinois to Indiana in ice cold weather –– all at company expense. I steadily progressed in my job and retired after 24 years from the highest rank for professionals.

My whole life has been full of miraculous experiences, which involved divine interventions. I would not have had education beyond high school without one of those miracles; I would not have gone for graduate studies or earned a Ph.D. later in life. But God’s leading hand was obvious in all these matters.

We have gone through other family crises as well. All of my three children have had near-fatal encounters at some point in their lives but were delivered from harm. I myself had at least three encounters, the last two within the past three years –– one a cancer encounter (which is in remission now), and the other a recent heart procedure which almost was fatal. But at age 72 I am living a busy and active life, doing some engineering consulting and traveling. I also lead Bible studies for young software engineers.

It is not enough to be successful in life with whatever we pursue. Each of us has to give an account of our lives before God. Are we ready for that? Have we led an exemplary Christian life? Have we lived lives that blessed others? Have we prepared ourselves for eternity by building character? Have we used our time and talents for God’s kingdom? These are key questions we must ask ourselves. Therefore I do not want to boast of my career achievements –– for which I owe thankfulness to God.