Look Up for Help
March may be springtime in much of the country, but in the mountains of Lane County, Oregon, winter is still raging — a point that become abundantly clear to motorist Casey Ryan.
While traveling a mountain road “not maintained for winter travel,” Ryan came upon another driver who had been stuck in the snow for several days. In attempting to help the other traveler extricate his car, his own vehicle became helplessly stuck in the snow.
He tried to no avail to reach out for help, but couldn’t get a cell signal to connect a call or send a text message. Thankfully, quick thinking prevailed.
Ryan, an experienced mountain photographer/videographer, just happened to keep drone equipment in his car which he typically used for overhead photos and videos. He quickly typed out a text message to a trusted friend pleading for help, along with coordinates for his location. He then tied his phone to his drone, and sent it soaring. Once it reached a high enough elevation, the phone was able to connect with a cell tower and shoot off his text message. Help arrived soon after.
"He then typed a text message to a trusted person describing his situation and exact location, hit send, and launched the drone several hundred feet into the air." -- Lane County Sheriff
Click here for the Lane County Sheriff’s Facebook post.
Fortunately, when we need help from our Heavenly Father, we don't need to rely on a cell signal. We need but to open our mouths or hearts and utter the words. He knows right where we are. He knows just what we need, even before we can express it. That said, when trials come, it’s important for us to quickly look up and lift up our cry for help! Not because God doesn't know our situation, but because He longs for us to reach out in trust.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help com? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2, ESV).
“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17, ESV).
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:3, ESV).
Rapper Layzie Bone Saves Life on the Road
Steven "Layzie Bone" Howse—a famous Hip-Hop artist with the Grammy award winning, multi-platinum band Bone Thugs-n-Harmony—was driving through Wyoming on the way to a concert to promote his new album PERFECT TIMING, when out of nowhere a car came careening toward him.
“He went from one side of the road to the other side of the road, left, right, left, right and a quarter mile up, oncoming traffic was coming, so you know we were screaming we were scared for him.” The car narrowly missed several vehicles before spinning out and coming to a stop right in front of Layzie’s car.
He and other witnesses, sure that they would find evidence of alcohol or drugs, rushed to the vehicle to see if they could help. What they found was a man incoherently babbling with no smell of alcohol on his breath nor evidence of any in the car. It didn’t take long for them to come to the conclusion that this was possibly some kind of blood sugar issue.
Layzie quickly ran to his car and fetched fruit and chocolate which he was carrying as road snacks. He began frantically feeding the man, helping to stabilize his blood sugar until paramedics could arrive.
So what did the PERFECT TIMING rapper have to say about his efforts? “I guess I was in the right place at the right time to be of some assistance.”
Quick thinking, a little preparedness, and a willingness to respond were all it took for Layzie Bone to save a life. Are you ready and willing to do the same as God presents you with opportunities to make a difference in the life of another—maybe even a complete stranger?
Spiritually and physically needy people are all around us. We are in the “right place at the right time” more than we care to acknowledge. All that’s lacking is a little quick thinking, a little preparedness, and a willingness to respond.
"Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others" (1 Timothy 6:17-18).
No Help From the Helpline
If you’re looking for answers or help with your taxes, you may not want to look to the IRS for help. In 2001, 37% of the 80 million calls to the IRS were unanswered. Of those that were answered, 47% were given incorrect information (US News & World Report, 4/16/01). Things improved somewhat over the next several years, with the agency reaching a high of 87% answered calls in 2004. But with recent changes in the tax code and multiple temporary tax incentives to help boost the economy, that number is once again expected to waiver.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES reports, ”Three out of ten people who call the toll-free help line this 2010 tax season won't get through to a human being - and that's if the agency meets its goals to service 71%. Callers lucky enough to reach a representative will have to wait on hold an average of nearly 12 minutes, a level of service deemed unacceptable in a report issued Wednesday by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson.”
While the US Government, and the IRS in particular, may at times think they have the power of God, clearly, they fall short of His care. Thankfully, we will never receive a response “deemed unacceptable” when crying out for help from God Himself.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalms 46:1-3).
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).