Have you ever been in a tight spot where you needed someone immediately to help you out? Or have you been in situations where you thought nobody could possibly help you?
From life experiences we find who can and who can't help us in time of need. When we are sick, we tend to call on Mom, the nurse, the doctor, or maybe take a quick visit to the local emergency room. When we have car trouble, we call upon our local body shop to fix the problems, or we may be a 'fix-it-myself' type of person. But who do you call upon when you are in the process of having a wreck?
My granddaughter and I were faced with that very question last Friday morning. We had left my home for the beauticians and then on to do some shopping - just Nanny and Heather. But we didn't get there! About five minutes from my home, we experienced some funny car problems, as though the tires were coming out from under my car. I began to slip and slide back and forth with absolutely no control over the steering wheel.
You hear how to steer during a slide performance - well, I am here to tell you it doesn't always work that way! I had absolutely no control, and couldn't get my steering wheel to obey no matter how I turned it. SO I did the only thing possible - let it do it's thing and turned loose of the steering wheel! Of course, we were seeing sky, ground, bank, weeds, sky, etc. You get the picture; it wasn't a pretty sight, but we kept calm during this process. We ended up in a very deep ditch way down the road from where the mishap started. We had slid down the ditch on our sides, which accounted for the 'sights' we were seeing.
A lame man lay at the gate of the temple called Beautiful. And as Peter and John arrived, he asked for alms. But Peter and John had none. Instead they said to him:
Acts 3:6 "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."
There was a certain damsel possessed with the spirit of divination. She followed Paul around saying the men were of God, but Paul didn't feel right in his Spirit, so he said:
Acts 16:18 "And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour."
This same JESUS is the name we called upon during our time of need. My granddaughter said, "JESUS", and I followed suit. We both said "JESUS" over and over until we came to a full stop. We surveyed ourselves for damage and found to be perfectly well, although the contents of my purse was all over the back floorboard. Ever surveyed the contents of a woman's purse?
We got out successfully and called someone to come get us and take us home. When my husband pulled the car out of the ditch, to our amazement, there was NO visible damage, and I only had a flat tire on the left front! Apparently, something had happened to that tire, which threw us into a skid, much like a front blowout would have done.
We have been careful to give the PRAISE to JESUS for our physical well-being as well as the car not being totaled! And we have given our testimony to others about JESUS being the reason for our safety.
I want to stress the importance of knowing HIM as your personal Savior, of giving him time and space each day in your life, regardless of your busy schedule. It is HE who gives us life and the possiblity of having a good life, of staying healthy, but we must maintain our relationship with HIM in order for us to be rewarded with such a response when we call upon his name. Had I been out of fellowship with Jesus, I feel my prayer would have not been answered, regardless of how many times I said JESUS. And I've reflected on the possibility of GOD letting this happen, watching after our well-being as well as our car in order for us to be able to give testimony to the fact that HE is the "WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE", and there is none other like HIM.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth , and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I also believe at the moment I spoke that name I had to have the faith that he would do that very thing I was trusting him to do.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great [is] thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
I believe too many times we aren't diligent in our walk with the Lord, and when our prayers aren't answered, we blame the Lord for not being there. In fact, though, it's right the opposite. We haven't followed his commands in our lives and lived according to his word. He gives us the choices to make and we can follow HIM closely, or we can be lukewarm. But if we are not hot on the trail pursuing HIM, then he might just not be there in time of need.
Let's be diligent in our walk with God. Make every moment of every day count.
Copyright 2004 by Barbara Sanders, Empire, AL. Used by permission.
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