Help Is On The Way

     I rushed up to the self-service checkout, glanced at the time and hurriedly unloaded items from my shopping basket. I'd need to make it home in time for an appointment. All was fine until the machine erred.  It wouldn't ring up my produce. 
      Great. That's all I need right now.     
     A message popped up. "Help is on the way." 
     Good. Someone will come to the rescue. 
      I looked for the store associate, but saw no one. I waited a couple of minutes. Impatient, I stepped away to go to Customer Service, but just as I did so, the store associate approached. She greeted me with a smile, typed a code into the machine, and voila, the produce issue was resolved.  
      Thank goodness for help. I left the store a happy customer and made it home on time.  
    "Help is on the way." Isn't this all we need to know about God's assistance when we need it? No intercom, cell phone, or computer needed. He is there for us 24/7.  
      The hold up at the grocery store, prior to the Coronavirus, was hardly a worry compared to what we're dealing with now. However, through this time of fear and uncertainty, help is on the way. People are rallying to assist others by donating food and household supplies and checking in on friends, neighbors, or the elderly. Some are making masks to aid in the shortage for medical personnel, and many in the health and service industries, are risking their own health to serve the needs of others. 
     As a society, we have collectively come together to support and encourage one through the use of our time, talents, and abilities. Likewise, our local and national government leaders are securing measures to remedy shortages of medical supplies, are looking into ways to deal with unemployment, and have initiated an economic stimulus plan.      
         Some may say, "How could God let our present situation take place? Perhaps we could ask the same thing of poverty, war, drugs, crime, or terrorism. The list could go on. We feel vulnerable. Fragile. However, the God of Creation, who made the universe and everything in it--including you and me--never intended for the world to become a place of chaos. Much of what has occurred throughout history has ties to human undertakings. There are some things; however, for which we do not have answers, such as national disasters or the current pandemic.    
     Scientists and medical researchers do not yet completely understand Covid19. However, there is one thing that as believers we know to be true. We have a God who is larger than any disaster or pandemic. He is here for us, and no matter what, He promises never to leave us or forsake us.
     The Bible tells us that we are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12): "Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body--whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."
      As God's people, as the body of Christ, we are taking action together as one people, as we lift our hands in service to help others in time of need. He has come to the rescue. With His guidance, He will help us to get through the challenges set before us.     
     Indeed, help is on the way.
     Assurance. And trust in Him. It's all we need right now.  
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"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." - Psalm 46:1
"The Lord is my helper." - Hebrews 13:6
"For the Lord God helps me." - Isaiah 50:7
"My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:2
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10