Fear Not

“Answer the phone! Answer the phone! I need help!” Sarah was screaming into her cell as it rang repeatedly at her home where her parents were asleep. My granddaughter was clinging to the slippery roof of her fiance’s car where she had scrambled in the middle of a flash flood in Tennessee a few days ago. They had been on their way to her house when they went over a hill and immediately found themselves in deep water and unable to stop until they came to the middle. Terrified as the water came into the car, she had climbed out the window to her precarious perch, while Kevin struggled against the current to reach her.

“I’m on my way!” her dad yelled when they called her back. “Call 911!” By the time help arrived, Kevin had managed to slog through the dark water, barely keeping his balance as he carried Sarah to safety, praying as hard as he had ever prayed in his life. By then they could see two other abandoned cars in the water. They learned that emergency vehicles had rescued the occupants, but no warning signs had been posted. I saw the television interview the next day as their car was being pulled from the water. Sarah’s fiance gave God the glory for saving them in the story by the news reporter.

I was reminded of this in a sermon Howard preached last night on trusting God. He referenced Daniel in the lions’ den and the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. The scripture says in Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flames kindle upon thee, (3) For I am the Lord thy God.”

The route the young people had taken ran beside a river, which had overflowed in torrential rains over Oakland road that night, but they were not hurt. Sarah’s triumphant account of their close call was on her face book status right away, which is where I learned about it, getting the full report from my daughter later. I was glad to be able to testify of it in church last night, not knowing what my husband’s text was going to be.

This couple was miraculously spared in a harrowing car wreck on Christmas night. Surely God has something good in store for them. Verse 1 of Isaiah 43 says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” A message to Israel and all God’s people.