According to a news announcement from the city where I reside, people can now send an emergency text to 911. No longer do you have to call 911, you can simply notify them by text.
No more calling to hear a live voice say, “Hello 911, what is your emergency?” Simply text the location and nature of the situation to 911, and help will be on the way.
Some days, when troubles or emergencies come, I forget that I can “dial direct” to another source of ever-present help: God Himself.
During life’s trials, we are quick to look elsewhere for help. We sometimes look to other people, friends included, for help (which can be very good and something God wants us to do). Other times, we turn to less helpful resources, like self-help books or Google, to look for solutions.
In her classic Christian work telling her life story, “The Hiding Place,” Nazi concentration camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom, recounts a time when she turned to a person to help instead of the Lord. Facing one of the many instances of injustices that she did, Corrie pleaded her case to a Nazi, only to be turned away cold.
After the encounter, Ten Boom was reminded that it is to God she could turn for real help, not man. This is the same spiritual giant who said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”
Today, when problems arise, call on Jesus through prayer. From God’s Word, we are promised that He will answer. And He may answer your emergency message even more immediately—and for sure more thoroughly—than 911 ever could.