Sometimes, under my breath, I hear myself asking the Lord why He won’t answer my prayers for healing this or fixing that. Today the Lord answered me, but His response was not a miraculous healing or a bag full of money falling into my lap (Yes, I know, cringe). Instead, He reminded me of a story I heard so many times. This story is often told during sermons, but I never heard it like this, and I never heard the real end to it.
Once upon a time there lived a man named John. He was in his late 60s; silver had taken over his hair. His eyes were kind, and his hands were always busy, looking for ways to help others. His children had left the nest long ago, and his wife passed away a few years back. John was a devout Christian, never missing a service, studying his devotions every morning, and often found deep in prayer. He considered himself a righteous man and believed his good deeds would secure him a place in heaven.
When a weather alert went off in the middle of the night, he didn’t pay much attention to it. “The Lord will protect me,” he thought, as he went back to sleep after unplugging the radio and silencing his phone. He woke up to the sound of splashing water, heavy rain, and wind. “Dad, you need to evacuate right now!”—text messages came one after another. He chuckled to himself. “Oh, these kids nowadays. They believe everything; they are scared of everything.”
Determined to prove everyone wrong, he sat up, trying to feel for his slippers in the dark. What he felt instead was cold water covering the floor of his second-floor bedroom. The truth ran through his spine as his body and mind realized he truly was in danger. “All right,” he thought. “Don’t panic. I just need to get to the roof, and the Lord will save me.” And so he did.
Wearing the pajamas he slept in, a robe he had left on the side of the bed last night, and the pair of slippers, he climbed to the top of the roof. There he stood, praying to the Lord to deliver him from danger. Soon he saw a boat filled with men shouting to him.
They were telling him to jump into the water and start swimming; someone would swim out to meet him and help him get into the boat. “No,” he waved at them. They tried again, but he was persistent, saying that God would deliver him. This couldn’t be it. Time passed; he was wet and cold.
He heard a noise in the sky and saw a helicopter approaching. The wind was picking up, swinging the ladder they lowered for him to climb. He refused, believing the Lord would save him, but not like this. The helicopter had to leave as the winds were getting stronger and stronger, and the rain had started again. John stood on the top of the roof, praying, “Lord, please save me!”
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, he heard the cry of a bird of prey. Its vast wings held steady as it circled around the house John was on top of. Slowly, the bird made its circles smaller, getting closer to John.
The bird was carrying something, its talons wrapped around it. Finally, the bird got close enough to John and dropped its load onto the roof. Astonished by the strange bird’s behavior, John took a look. It was a life jacket. “How odd,” John thought, as he started to walk away from it. “I should focus on my prayer, not on some silly bird.”
The wave of the second flash flood came on rapidly, ripping off the roofs, throwing around cars like they were toys. It went right through John’s house. When John opened his eyes, he saw himself standing on grass in the middle of something that looked like a meadow. It was a beautiful, warm day. In front of him was a man sitting on a tree stump.
The man had twigs in his hands, trying to make something out of them. “Ah, you’re awake,” he said, starting to look up. As John stared at the man’s face, he saw that the man was sad, his shoulders a bit droopy. The longer John stared at the man, the clearer it became. He was standing in front of Jesus, and Jesus was not happy. He started recollecting all the wrongs he did in his life. He realized he was condemned.
“But what about all the good I did? Is it worth nothing?” he asked himself, as resentment and anger were rising in his heart. Jesus asked, “What’s on your heart, friend?”
Filled with despair: “Friend, you don’t even know my name, do you? You never loved me, and you let me die in that flood.”
Jesus replied, “I know you, John, son of Bess and Edward. I knew you even before you were conceived. I was with you throughout your whole life. Here, take a look.”
And John looked. He saw himself being born, growing up, and getting married. He witnessed the birth of his children, the joys and sorrows of his life. The last thing he saw was himself on the rooftop. It all felt like a movie filled with flashbacks, with one difference.
He saw the presence of the Lord throughout his life; he saw the Lord holding him when he thought he was alone; he saw the Lord smiling when he was playing with his children. He saw the Lord weeping with him when he had lost his wife. “If you love me this much,” his voice cracked, “why did you let me die there?”
Jesus nodded and zoomed in to the last several hours of John’s life, showing John Jesus’s hand cranking up the volume on the weather radio. He saw Jesus urging his children to call the National Guard. He saw Jesus helping the pilot locate John on the rooftop, and finally, he saw Jesus commanding the bird of prey to bring John that life jacket.
John fell to his knees, his body trembling, his heart breaking, his voice reduced to a whisper. “I understand now. How can you ever forgive me?”
Jesus rose from his seat and helped John up. He said, “You’ve been forgiven all this time. I am so happy to have you here, my dear friend. Follow me; there is work to be done.”
Just like that, through this old story, Jesus reminded me of all the ways He has been sending help. I only needed to simply see it and receive it. He has never left my side. And He also sent me a reminder: “Follow me; there is work to be done.”
