Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24: 37ff)
The rains came, the dam was overflowing, a flood was coming, and a man stood on his front porch watching the waters rise in the street when a National Guard Army truck drove up and the soldier called out to the man, "The dam is overflowing and a flood is coming! The Governor has declared a state of emergency and we're evacuating everybody. Get on the truck and we'll bring you to safety."
"I'm not leaving my home," said the man, "I believe God'll save me!"
A few hours later the water was up to the porch and coming in the front door when a rescue boat came by. The people in the boat called out to the man, "The dam is overflowing! This place will all be under water in an hour or two. Get in the boat and we'll bring you to safety."
"I'm not leaving my home," said the man, "I believe God'll save me!"
A couple of hours later the flood waters were over the second story and the man was clinging to the roof of his house when a Coast Guard helicopter came by. The pilot called through the loudspeaker, "WE'LL DROP A LADDER AND PULL YOU UP TO SAFETY!" The man shook his head and waved the helicopter off refusing to go. He thought to himself, God'll save me.
A couple of hours later the dam broke, the deluge came and flooded everything and the man drowned.... Standing in front of God, the man asked the Lord, "Why didn't you save me?"
God replied, "I sent you an army truck, a rowboat, and a helicopter! What else did you expect me to do?"
My friend Allen often shares this funny story (http://aflaude.wordpress.com). The point is that God serendipitously sends us all help to save us from the problems and challenges we all face in our lives. We just have to be on the look out for the help he sends. God doesn't need our help to save us, but He most certainly won't save us without our cooperation.
