Hope on the Horizon

Does it seem to you that the phone seems to ring at the absolute worst time sometimes? Whether it’s when you’re in the middle of an important face-to-face conversation with someone (yes – some people do actually still do that!), or in a moment of intense concentration, the ring, ring…buzz, buzz…or whatever other number of modern-day alerts tell us that our solitude is being interrupted with the technological marvel of the telephone…sometimes the timing is just horrible!

Such was the case at a recent fishing tournament I was attending with some high school students. Two hours remaining in the tournament day with enough fish in the live-well to make a legitimate run at the top spot, we pulled back into our most productive water of the day, and…you guessed it…ring, ring! It seemed that a fellow competitor was forced to interrupt this lovely day on the lake with some technical difficulties that involved mechanical malfunctions related to his motor. In other words, his motor wouldn’t crank, and he needed to be towed back to the launch. This in turn equaled the end of competition for my boat and the beginning of mission rescue. The picture above shows the towing in progress! And this got me to thinking about the team that was in need of the help…and how many times I’ve been in that predicament myself.

I’ve been the one with life’s various malfunctions going on before. Motors don’t always crank, plans don’t always work out, and relationships fall apart sometimes. When these things happen, we are in the same boat as my buddy that had the motor problems on tournament day. We need help from someone else, because we don’t have the ability to help ourselves. These are the times when the promise from Jesus is the sweetest, because He has promised that “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.” (John 14:18). So many times in the scriptures, Jesus – at the moment when people needed His help the most – showed up…Right on Time! The disciples on the storm-tossed sea in John 6…The man with the demon possessed son in Matthew 17…The sisters of Lazarus in John 11…and on and on it goes.

Are you, as the saying goes, “up a creek without a paddle” in life right now? Let’s face it – life happens! And when it does leave you feeling helpless, remember that there’s hope on the horizon – and His name is Jesus! So whether it’s a great day in which everything works or one of those days when things fall apart – with broken motor and all, I’ll see you in the Great Outdoors!