RESCUE OTHERS in THEIR STORM

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (HCSB)

Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas during the 2019 hurricane season. The Category 5 storm destroyed Grand Bahama Island and other areas. Billions of dollars in damages resulted from the bullseye the storm scored on the islands. Winds of more than 180 miles per hour, with gusts up to 200 miles per hour, flattened buildings. The thought of what the storm could bring fell short of what actually happened as the storm lashed out over a full day. Many interviewed for television and newspapers mentioned how they lost all they had in Dorian’s devastation.

One of the stories that came from Dorian was the work of the United States Coast Guard. Though the members of the Coast Guard were safe and out of harm’s way, they sprang into action for those in danger, those who needed rescuing after Dorian. The Coast Guard ran missions to the islands to rescue those who needed help desperately.

With each helicopter flight, they pulled people out of the rubble. Destitute individuals found the necessities lacking in their devastated hometowns, things like food and clean drinking water. The Coast Guard undertook to reach out to those who had nowhere to go and no one to turn to in their desperation.

As we look at storms, we open our eyes not only to the storms in our lives, but we also note the storms others must endure. We see the storm they’re in and we are moved to action. We go where the need is because that’s what Jesus did.

One day, He traveled through Jericho and paused to speak to a man hated by those of his community. Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus. Too short to see over the crowd, he searched for a way to catch a glimpse. People considered him to be a pariah as his job allowed him to cheat people, and cheating people lined his pockets. A storm raged inside Zacchaeus as he had almost anything he wanted but in Jesus, he encountered someone very different.

Jesus looked up and spoke. He reached out to the one in a tree. When He called, Zacchaeus came running. When He spoke, all those who heard then knew the mission of Jesus’ life, the mission for our lives too. Jesus said that He came to seek and to save the lost. He encountered a multitude of people going through a wide range of storms. He was their rescue.

We have learned how to handle the storms of life. Now, we are called to lead rescue missions to others in the storms of their lives. As they fight to endure the storm, we have the perfect chance to step in and lead them to their rescuer, Jesus Christ. When a storm destroys their lives, we can help them pick up and rebuild while pointing them to Christ who can put life back together. Paul had such an attitude in his life when it came to others. He wrote to the Corinthians, “To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:20 HCSB)

We all face storms, and we all can be there for others in their storms. What we learn from our storms can help others and what we are called to do can help others survive their own storms.

​​Storm Preparation

• How does the work of the Coast Guard in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian inspire you?
• How can we put the mission of Jesus in action during someone else’s life storm?
• Name a time Jesus rescued you.

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