HELP, God! (Part 1)

by Susie Crosby

“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. Psalm 107:6 NLT

I gasped as my eyes found my husband. The look on his face sent a lightning bolt of fear from my head to my toes. The waves were getting bigger and rougher; and as we both struggled to stay afloat, he was drifting farther and farther away from me and out to sea.

“I’m not going to make it,” he said. His voice was weak and resigned, and I knew he meant it. My best friend, the love of my life, the father of my boys was drowning, and I could not save him.

In a frozen moment of terror, a million thoughts raced through my mind:

I should try to get to him and hold him up, but I don’t have the strength. We will both go under.

I should try to swim to shore and call 911, but he won’t be able to last that long.

I cannot watch him drown. If he dies, I don’t want to live.

How had we gotten into such a desperate situation?

I was sure it was my fault. I wanted to swim one last time before we flew home. But something was different—I could tell right away. After a couple of waves had crashed over our heads, my feet couldn’t touch the sand. We were moving rapidly away from the beach, and we couldn’t get back. I turned to tell Bob I was getting scared, and that’s when I realized how far out he was and how exhausted he had become.

Panic took over and my body went completely weak. I had only seconds to make the hardest decision of my life, and both choices led to tragedy.

All of a sudden, a burst of strength came from somewhere deep inside of me. With an energy and volume that I didn’t know I had, I yelled, “HELP! HELP!” toward the shore. There were no lifeguards at this spot, and I couldn’t see the beach; but I was daring to hope that some of the people we had seen earlier were still there. Maybe someone would call 911?

That’s when God sent “Angel Jeff.” He got to us in what seemed like an instant, put Bob on his back, and swam us at an angle out of the rip current and back to shore. He saved us both.

Jeff, a snorkeler with years of experience swimming in strong currents, was a selfless guy who wasn’t afraid to jump in and help. At first, I wondered why he had chosen that particular beach to set up his chair and read his book that afternoon. But I believe with all my heart that it was no coincidence. God knew that we were going to get caught in that dangerous rip current at that exact time. And he knew that we would desperately need someone to rescue us from that very spot. This loving God of ours put his “Angel Jeff” in the right place at the right time to answer my desperate screams for help.

Psalm 107 reminds us:

He hears and helps us when we are lost–not sure what the next step is.

He hears and helps us when we are alone, in trouble, and bound by things that hurt us.

He hears and helps us when we are knocked off our feet and deeply afraid.

Sometimes, HELP is the only word we can say.

And sometimes, it is the only word we have to say.

This article is brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).

About the author: Susie Crosby has loved books and Jesus for as long as she can remember. She writes because life is often harder than she’d like it to be, and faith can sometimes be a struggle. By sharing God’s Word in simple and relatable ways, Susie pours refreshment nd hope into discouraged hearts.

Susie has taught children in grades Pre-K through 8 for over 33 years. She currently teaches music, physical education, art, and technology at an all-kindergarten school. She is the author of Just One Word: 90 Devotions to Invite Jesus In (Harvest House, 2018), and the children’s poem Moon Wonder (Mighty Kind Magazine, Issue 2, 2020).

Together with her ministry friend Angie Baughman, of Steady On Ministries, Susie enjoys co-hosting Bible Talk, a monthly podcast where they have way too much fun discussing one word and one verse at a time. Susie is a member of the Northwest Christian Writers Association, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and the Red House Writers Collective. Her weekly blog and more encouragement can be found at   www.susiecrosby.com. Instagram:  @susiecrosby, Facebook: /susiecrosbyauthor

Join the conversation: Have you ever desperately called for help?