A Present Help

In the Bible the Lord gives us a promise that He will help us in the time of trouble.(Ps. 46:1) My wife and I learned this lesson early in our relationship. Looking back now, this story seems humorous, but at the time it was a serious matter. The value of the lesson is priceless, I believe the Lord allowed it to happen to show how much He cares for us and He is just a prayer away. Friend get in your comfy chair and get ready to be entertained, as well as encouraged.
    You see this story begins on a night that began like any other. Amber and I were dating, we were in love and wanted to spend all the time we could together. We decided that I would pick her up at her home and we would come to my home to watch a movie and hang out with my folks. ( Just your typical movie night.) I picked her up at her parent's home, her house was about twenty miles from mine on the main road. She lived in a small town of  Pridgen, you would have to drive through the town of Broxton to get to West Green in which I lived with my parents. (The details will all make sense later.) We arrived at my home and watched the movie with my family.
    The night was moving really quick and before we knew  the time arrived for me to take her home. There was a very important detail that I forgot to mention before, my car was a 1985 Chevy Celebrity.(A real hot rod!) Unfortunately, I had a head light out on my car. I thought I could take a short-cut and bypass Broxton and the police to avoid a ticket (It seemed liked a good plan.) I would take the dirt road, which was a twelve mile straight stretch of road that very few people drove. It was a perfect plan except we had recently received a lot of rainfall, which left the road in a poor condition. It seemed that very little traffic had passed down this  way because of the condition of the road and what little traffic had traveled the route was 4x4 pickups. I wasn't very reluctant at first to travel this way, until we had to manage a few wash outs. I started to wonder if it had been a good idea to try to by-pass Broxton, but I wasn't going to let Amber know that I was rethinking my decision. Ah, the male ego!
    We traveled a few miles along the mangled muddy mess of a road when we encountered deep ruts the 4x4’s left. I could hear the rock and gravel scrubbing the undercarriage of the car as I tried to straddled the ruts to prevent us from getting stuck in the mud. I thought to myself we’ve come too far to turn back now. We pushed our way forward like a bulldozer in a construction zone. Then it happened, I don't remember if I over corrected my steering or if the mud grabbed the tire of the car and pulled me off course, but the car slammed into the rut. At first, I thought I could maneuver the vehicle out of the trench by putting the car into reverse. This did not have the affect I was hoping for, but instead made things worse. So, I put it in drive and floored the accelerator. This also, did not have the affect I desired, but if anything lodged the car further into the rut. We were stuck! Yes, in the middle of nowhere with the clock quickly ticking closer to curfew. I thought surely when(or if ) I get her  home, her parents were going to murder me!
    Trying to think fast, I asked if she had her cell phone with her. It was no use, she left it at home that night(It probably wouldn't have had a signal.) My heart began to race. I told Amber to climb over to the driver's seat and I would try to push us out. I instructed her in what to do and told her that we would begin on the count of three. One! Two! Three! I strained with all my might as Amber applied the gas….nothing happened. The vehicle didn't even budge. The tires spun violently around and around. Then standing there in the cold night air I realized the reason why it would not move. The front tires were not touching the ground, my heart sunk. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere! I tried to pack dirt under the tires ,but nothing worked. Nothing at all!!
    Then the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance Psalm 46:1.This scripture declares God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. I asked Amber to agree with me and we began to pray. We reminded God of the promise He gave us in His word (Not because He needed to be reminded, but because we were showing Him that we trusted His word to be true.) Less than five minutes passed and we saw headlights appear. My faith screamed yes, but my flesh cried no. I began to think about the people who traveled this road. They were usually people who were trying to avoid the law(Imagine that!). Headlights crept toward us slowly, yet my mind raced with thoughts of what could happen, if it really was bad people. Then I noticed something else that spooked me even more, there was a second vehicle behind the first. Great, there could be two car loads of thugs to deal with. I tried to give some comforting words to Amber without my own fear showing. The headlights of the automobiles were blinding us as they slowed to a stop.. I don't know if Amber was scared or not, but I was not listening to the voice of faith and I was frightened. Here was the moment of truth! I could only see the silhouette of a person as the door of the truck opened. I heard a young man say "Do you folks need some help?"
    Then I realized that this wasn't a thug, but a teenage boy. The car that was behind him was his sister they were coming home from a revival meeting. What a God we serve! He not only sent help, but he sent Christian help. I had been so worried about some crazed maniac on a drug binge finding us out in the middle of nowhere, yet God had it under control the whole time. The young man was in a 4x4 pick up, so he had no problem pulling us out of the mess we were in(The Lord will provide Phil.4:19). I was able to get Amber home at a decent time(Hallelujah!). On the way back home I praised God for being that present help in trouble, as I traveled along the highway!
    Amber and I learned a priceless lesson that night. God is there when you need Him most. He will not leave nor forsake you when you have troubles and trials. He is right there ready to help if you will call on Him. It doesn't matter if you make an unwise decision and get bogged down in a rut in the road of life. You may think it is over for you, because you tried to take a short cut in life that didn’t turn out like you planned. God's grace is sufficient and He is waiting for you to call on His name.