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"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." (Isaiah 41:13 NIV)
As I answered my ringing telephone, I heard a distressed sob as my daughter pleaded, “Can you come up to the house to help me, please?"
Quickly hurrying to the main house, and running up the stairs to the second floor, I was totally overwhelmed by what I saw. White powder covered everything in sight: the floors, the furniture, the stair treads, computer, printer, pictures, bins of paper, the rug. It was everywhere.
Oh, my goodness! What happened? The fire extinguisher, stored on the bottom shelf of the linen cupboard for easy access, had accidentally gone off. What a mess!
As a normally organized and efficient person, I was stunned. I just stood there looking at the scene, wondering how we were ever going to get this cleaned up and how to go about it. Everything in me just wanted to walk away. But that was not really an option. My daughter needed help. Her husband was just recovering from surgery, and with a two-year-old and a five-month-old to care for, as well as being a working mom, she needed somebody to help with this cleanup.
So, I did what I always do. I whispered a quiet prayer, asking the Lord to guide and direct us in the best way that we should go. And of course, He did, for as He, Himself, has said many times over through the truth of the Scriptures: "Do not fear; I will help you." (Isaiah 41:10,13,14 NIV)
Two-and-a-half hours later, we replaced the vacuum cleaner bag for the last time, emptied the pail, wrung out the mop, washed the rags used to wipe everything down, and placed everything back into the linen closet. A very overwhelming situation had been conquered and dealt with, once again with the Lord as our helper.
How about you? Are you feeling overwhelmed today by anything? Are you wondering how you will ever cope with what you are facing right now? If so, then I encourage you to whisper a prayer to the One who is always listening and waiting to say, "Do not fear; I will help you." And indeed, He will.
Prayer: Father God, thank You so much that we can count on You in any and all situations, large or small, to be there to help us for the asking. Encourage our hearts this day to fear not, but to trust in You for all the wisdom, guidance, and help that we may need. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Lynne Phipps
Atlin, British Columbia, Canada
Reprinted from the PresbyCan Daily Devotional with the author's permission
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