Read
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6
Reflect
Justin was walking home from work and took a shortcut that ran along a set of railroad tracks. It was pitch dark, so he stayed on the tracks to make sure he was on solid ground. About halfway home, he reached a trestle that stretched about 400 yards between two points.
Just as he reached the middle, he heard a train coming and realized he would never make it to either side in time. So Justin did the only thing he could think of to save himself. He jumped to one side of the trestle and hung on to the edge until the train passed.
The problem was that once it did pass, he realized he wasn’t able to pull himself back up. Justin couldn’t see what was below him, and he did not know how far he might fall. He only knew that if he let go, he might be dashed to pieces on whatever waited beneath him.
Now the fight for survival was about holding on and calling for help until someone noticed him or heard his pleas.
After using every ounce of strength to cling to the edge, Justin was still there when the sun peeked out hours later. Only then did he realize the truth: He had been hanging just about two feet from the ground. At any point, he could have dropped safely without injury.
So many of us are like Justin. We assume the worst and believe ourselves to be in terrible danger without really knowing where we are. We build scenarios in our minds. We prepare ourselves for the worst possible outcome. We look into the darkness beneath us and imagine an abyss.
But God sees what we cannot see.
Isaiah reminds us to seek the Lord while He may be found and to call upon Him while He is near. The passage also tells us that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. That is good news when our thoughts are ruled by fear. What feels like a deadly drop to us may be ground that God already knows is there.
How close are you to the Lord today? Are you close enough to call for Him before fear convinces you that you are alone?
Rest assured: He is near. He knows what is beneath you. And He will never let you fall into the abyss.
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Reflection copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
