Unflagging Leadership and Unfailing Help

UV 596/10,000 Unfailing Help and Leadership “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,” Isaiah 58 v 9 The Lord promises that if we free others from the yoke of spiritual, mental and social oppression, if we do not accuse and judge others and if we avoid malicious talk, He will rush to us when we cry for help. He will come beside us and say, “ here I am.” The Lord is attentive to our prayers and responsive to our need. Isn’t it amazing that each of us in comparison with the universe is smaller than a subatomic particle, yet the Lord relates to us as one person with another, a friend with his soulmate. He is under no obligation to come when we call. Yet, when we call, He not only listens to our heart’s cry but comes to our aid. He hears us even before we speak or pray. He says, “ No need to yelp, I am your ever present help.” In times of distress, our cry of prayer is like a literal S.O.S. to the Lord. In a recent cyclonic storm near the coast of Chennai, a ship broke away from its anchorage at the outer mooring of the port and got swept away towards a beach and eventually got stuck on the sand. In the rising waves, wind and rain, the captain sent out a distress signal to the Coast Guard. But, the Coast Guard did not respond saying that it was too risky for them to venture out into the stormy sea. The captain then ordered the sailors to abandon the ship. At that point, many of the ship’s crew got into a lifeboat. But, the lifeboat turned topsy turvy in the choppy sea and five sailors drowned to death. Their bodies, bloated and decomposed, were found by the Coast Guard after several days. It was found later that the captain’s decision to leave the ship was not the right one in the circumstances. The leadership had failed. The lifeboat failed. The Coast Guard had failed for the stormy conditions were beyond their capacity to be of assistance. Our human support systems often fail but the Lord is an unfailing lifeguard. The only pre-conditions is that we need to have an intimate relationship with the Lord, reach out to the needy and oppressed, avoid blaming others and avoid godless gossip or idle words. No storm or situation is either too big or too small for Him to intervene decisively in our favour. His leadership is an unsinkable ship. The pre-conditions to avail His guidance and protection are the discipline we need to subject ourselves to as His disciples and sailors. The Lord responds with just three words: “ here am I”. He does not say any extra or superfluous word as His presence is enough to uphold us, to give us victory. His presence will afford for us the specific help we need in our separate and distinct situations. Our attitudes, our thoughts, words and actions must be in sync with Him. What He needs to see is not a charade of religion but His character reflected in our lives. This uni-verse came in a time of prayer as a confirmation of the Lord’s presence with Nimisha, our daughter who has been away in London for studies since the past couple of months. The Lord spoke through this verse, confirming His presence with her as she mingles with different unknown people and situations so far away from the possibility of either parental knowledge or help. Prateep V Philip