Help Me! (Isaiah 59:4)

When I was about 7 years old, my father and I were at the ocean, off a pier. My father was standing on the pier watching me swim when a young voice, crying for help, interrupted us. It was a little girl, probably not more than 3 or 4 years of age, screaming for help, apparently drowning. Everyone on the pier just glanced over at her but no one moved to help her, no one except my father. I still vividly recall him ripping off his glasses and diving headfirst into the ocean to save the little girl. Some people congratulated my father but most just ignored the incident. Perhaps most surprising was the reaction of the parents of the girl who seemed puzzled and confused. No thanks or smile, nothing. My father later just shook his head and mumbled something about these people didn’t realize how close their daughter came to drowning and how no one else was willing to lift a finger to help.

This memory has remained with me all these years. It reminds me of the unselfish spirit of my father who heroically acted when no one else did. It also reminds me of how some people can be so wrapped up in themselves they do not see an imminent danger right before their eyes.

No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
Isaiah 59:4

The prophet Isaiah warned Israel that their sins were separating them from God. There were signs all around them but the people turned their back on God and listened and followed false teaching, leading to more sin and evil. They turned a deaf ear to the warnings of Isaiah and many other prophets who spoke for God.

God can speak to us in many different ways and can use circumstances in our lives or people with whom we meet to communicate His message. Are there urgent messages that God is attempting to communicate with you at this very moment? Do not turn away from or be ignorant of God’s warnings!

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.