First Response

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“I will instruct you and teach you in the way
​which you should go;
​I will guide you with My eye.”
Psalms 32:8

     In the last few weeks Americans have suffered one tragedy after another from the bombing in Boston, to the plant explosion in Texas to a monster tornado in Oklahoma.  It is hard to watch the news coverage with so many tearful family members recounting their losses to the listening public.  But when you look closely, just over their shoulders, you can see the first responders in the background searching for survivors and bringing vital aid to the injured.   These emergency personnel become the unsung heroes in so many disasters as they leap into the midst of the debris of life to help the needy.  We are so grateful that they are always standing by to come to our rescue.  But where do we turn in the personal emergencies of our life?
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     Recently at Broome County Jail, I noticed a familiar name on the facility roster and invited him to the chapel for a one-on-one discussion.  When he arrived, I let him do most of the talking as he explained the circumstances of his return to jail.  He blamed a lot of his troubles on what other people had caused him to do, distancing himself from personal responsibility.  As he got closer to the heart of his problem he said, “I felt myself falling, so I went and got drunk.”  This began the domino effect that took him back into his addictive lifestyle and led to yet another incarceration.  But what if, when he felt himself falling, his first response was to cry out to the Lord?  “Call upon me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know”  (Jeremiah 33:3).  God has endless, creative resources to help us in our time of trouble.  Calling on Him should always be our first reaction as He will lead us to the best solution.  He loves us and cares about our struggles.  God can be trusted to see us through life’s biggest disasters.