I am sitting here thinking about life lines . . . you know . . . when someone is drowning and a person on the shore throws them the round, white floaty-thingy with a rope attached. The person grabs on and can be pulled safely to shore . . . and all is well.
The other day in Visalia, CA, we had just such an incident; only this time it was people with guns running from the law, shots rang out and the awful words, “Officers down.”
I don’t know how long it took for emergency crews to arrive on scene. I have no idea what thoughts ran through these Officers’ minds as they lay there, bleeding; possibly not even aware of how they were hurt or all the places they were hit.
But I do know there was a voice on the other end of that radio. A voice that acted as their lifeline . . . until help could arrive. A calm voice, a sure and steady voice . . . a voice telling them help was on the way. Help arrived that day . . . and all is well.
And I was just thinking about Jesus and how He is our lifeline. He is the voice of reason and calm assurance when we are in over our heads and can’t seem to find a way out.
He is the one who tells us that He loves us . . . that He cares about what happens to us . . . that He understands our confusion, our anger and our fears.
He is the one who walked out on the deck during a ferocious storm and said, “Peace be still,” and all was calm.
He is the one who said, “Lazarus, come forth,” and after four days in a tomb, lying there dead . . . his friend Lazarus walked out and was alive again.
And Jesus was the one who walked into my confused and mixed up world and said, “Walk with Me” . . . and I did . . . I do.
Jesus was my lifeline when I did not deserve one . . . and for that . . . I am forever grateful.
I don’t know where you are walking today . . . I don’t even know if you give much thought to God in the course of your daily activities. But I want you to know that He is real . . . and that He cares about you.
It doesn’t matter who you are . . . where you come from . . . or even the life you have lived so far. Jesus died for you . . . because He loves you.
That’s the lifeline.
You don’t have to understand everything about it . . . you just need to accept the fact that He is real . . . then grab a hold of that . . . and let Him pull you in to Himself.
And when you do, you will know what the Officers knew as they listened to that voice and heard the sirens coming down the street . . . help has arrived . . . and all is well.
Isaiah 43:1-3:
But now, this is what the Lord says—
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
Don’t let the flood waters of life take you down. Reach for the One who is reaching for you. Hear Him today . . . through all the mess and confusion.
Let Jesus be your voice . . . on the other end.
Anyways . . . I was just thinking . . .