I Will Sustain You and I Will Rescue You

The Lord has promised, “I will sustain you.”

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Israel with my church family. My daughter had promised to take care of my two cats and dog while I was gone. The Sunday before the trip, she introduced herself to my traveling companion, giving her a word of advice about me: “Mom wanders, so make sure you keep an eye on her.”

Surprised, I glanced at my daughter. “I don’t wander.”

Being new to the church, I shook my head and said to my friend, “Don’t listen to her. I never wander.”

She seemed unconcerned, and the conversation moved on. Yet, my daughter’s words lingered throughout the week, even after we reached Israel.

Overall, the trip was spectacular. As our departure date approached, a memorable day in Jerusalem caught me by surprise.

After lunch, we queued up to leave the Western Wall and hike to the City of David. As we moved through a crowded pass-through, I became intrigued by a map displayed on the wall next to the Old City. I paused to take photographs, and when I looked up, my traveling companions were gone. How did they disappear so fast?

I searched everywhere, recalling my daughter’s warning. Insisting I wasn’t lost, I told myself I was just consulting the map—maps are in my blood. Even as I continued to look, I trusted God was with me.

Finally, I had to face the fact that I couldn’t find my tour group. After unsuccessfully texting a couple of friends, I took a taxi back to the hotel. By now, everyone was probably in Hezekiah’s Tunnel and unable to receive my texts.

A few hours later, back at the hotel, my friends and pastor were relieved to see me in the restaurant. I apologized for creating a stir, but deep down I knew I was never lost. How could I get lost in Jerusalem, the city of the Living God, where my Savior lived, preached, and died on a wooden cross for my sins?

This sense of assurance that God is always with me surfaced again recently. As a ham radio operator specializing in CW (Morse Code), I know that CW can reach across the world without modern technology. All I need is a wire (antenna), a key or paddle to send code, and an HF radio. With these somewhat crude instruments, when compared to today’s technology, I’ve made contacts in over 32 countries.

One contact stands out above all the others. A few months ago, I was running 100 watts in the evening and heard a pileup of CW ham radio operators trying to contact a particular call sign. I am always curious about pileups because they mean whoever the sender is is special, rare, or in a unique location.

I jotted down the call sign and looked it up on QRZ. To my astonishment, he was in Jerusalem. What were the chances that he would hear me amongst the pile-up? Even knowing the chances were slim, I sent my call sign at the first opportunity.

Surprised, I immediately heard him return my call sign. We followed the protocol, sending the RST (sound quality) and QTH (location), and I ended our contact with 73, KO4LBS (my call sign).

When the contact was finished, I cheered so loud I’m surprised my neighbors didn’t send the cops to my house. I sensed God reassuring me, “I am here in Jerusalem, just like when you were here in Israel three years ago, and I carried you back to the hotel so you would be safe.”

God continued speaking to me in a reassuring voice inside my head. “Tonight, I heard you through the atmospheric noise, the competition of other hams to be heard, and the chatter across thousands of miles. Rest assured: I have made you, and I will carry you. I will sustain you, and I will rescue you.”

I know I am never alone. God will help me to accomplish everything He has assigned me to do. Even as I work on my next book in the Eighth Dimension Trilogy, I know God is with me, encouraging me to persevere. Despite the distractions and noise of the world, He knows where I am.

For the next month, my goal is to devote my time, energy, and mind to finishing Counterfeit: A Young Adult Fantasy, Book 2. Time is short, and the Lord’s return is near. I must remember that God rescued me for His good purpose: To write, and to write for His glory in season and out of season.

As the war in Israel grows, uncertainty can be overwhelming, but we must keep doing what God has called us to do. I will trust in God’s power and glory, knowing He is the author and the finisher of each book I write. May God sustain all of us in these final days to accomplish His Good Works. Rest assured, we are never lost, never alone, and never without His guiding Hand.