A Tipped Canoe and a Cry for Help

Psalm 18:6. “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from His sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.”

On the last day of our camping trip this summer, we had packed all our gear and were preparing to return to the car for the twelve hour ride home. I settled my pack in the middle of the canoe and then cautiously made my way to the bow of the boat. As I was waiting the vessel started to drift. When Dad reached for it, we became unbalanced, tipped, and I fell into the water.

I remember the frigid water saturating my fleece jacket as I desperately tried to climb up the slippery rock where we had moored our boat. I couldn’t get any traction, so I looked up for some assistance. Everyone was just standing there staring at me in disbelief. No one moved until I yelled, “SOMEBODY, PLEASE HELP ME!” Then it seemed like all the statues came to life and everyone rushed to pull me out, rescue the capsized canoe, and recover the waterlogged backpacks.

There are times in our lives when we just feel swamped with frustrations and difficulties. We keep trying and trying to pull ourselves out of a big mess until we finally come to the end of our own resources. We realize that we are in too deep and we need some help.

Though God does not stand around helplessly watching us struggle, He often waits for us to call out to Him. He wants us to acknowledge our need and pray to Him for help. When we do He hears us. His listening ears hear our cry and He comes to our aid. He reaches down from the heavens to draw us out of the deep waters and leads us to a place of safety.

When you are in deep water and can’t pull yourself up the slippery rocks, do what I did and call out, “PLEASE HELP ME!” God’s ear is tuned to your cry. He will answer for He is the Rock on which you can stand.

Love,

Mama