rescued

I felt like an idiot standing on the chair, but that was the only way I could avoid the drunken brawl all around me. Meanwhile, the guys just kept on wrestling.

The boss’ instructions to the new guy—me—were clear: If you see a fight, don’t get involved. Just call for help on your Walkie Talkie.

Well, I guess the excitement of working my first professional wrestling match was too much. When I saw the man and woman trading punches my instinct told me to intervene, so I did.

After seeing the combatants up close, I quickly regretted my decision to disobey. The man was huge, so as we stood (my) nose to (his) chest, I pleaded for mercy and appealed to logic. I acknowledged that he could kick my rear end, but also mentioned that the police were on the way. Thus, wouldn’t it be a good idea not to hurt me?

Despite being drunk, he decided to cool it. Praise God! Unfortunately, the woman was equally drunk and going absolutely nuts. Since mountain man had decided to cease hostilities she picked a fight with others around her. Thus, what began as a twosome was now a crowdsome.  

That’s when I decided to get up on the chair. It just seemed safer up there. Besides, I got a better view of the two comic book characters still doing battle in the ring.

Fortunately, the police arrived pretty quickly and broke it all up. They decided to only cuff and arrest the original combatants, mountain man and wild woman.

As we walked together towards the elevator, mountain man was calm and submissive, but wild woman was, well, wild. She was busy kicking and cursing both officers the entire way. Once the doors closed, however, she stopped resisting. That’s because the police convinced her in a very physical way that she should calm down. She did.

As I reflect on that bizarre memory from my former life in the business world, I’m so grateful I wasn’t hurt. I mean, mountain man was one big dude. He could have mopped the floor with me. And, truth be told, wild woman probably could have whipped me as well.

What saved me that day? I count my blessings: Mountain man showed me mercy, wild woman decided to lash out at others versus me, and standing on the chair helped me avoid being crushed and pummeled by the drunken crowd. Oh, and let’s not forget the police. Praise God for the police.

Thinking back to that day, I’d do things differently. First of all, I would not have intervened. Not only would I obey my boss’s instructions, I’d also get to watch the whole wrestling match. As it is, I missed most of it. Oh, the regrets.  

Seriously, what would I do now?

Well, first of all, as a follower of Jesus now I have a totally different perspective. If I’m in immediate danger of course I’ll protect myself in any way I can. But if there’s time to think and plan my defense the first thing I’m going to do is get on the Walkie Talkie and call the God of the universe.

“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”1

There’s a time and a place for physically defending oneself, and there’s a time and a place for the help of a police officer. But the ultimate resource is God Almighty. Is there anybody else you’d rather have on your side? Me neither.

So the next time you find yourself in a pinch, I encourage you to make Him your go-to guy. Sure, you might have to stand on a chair or call for the police, but why not call on your heavenly Father as soon as you sense danger?

“The LORD is (your) rock, (your) fortress and (your) deliverer; …God is (your) rock, in whom (you) take refuge. He is (your) shield and the horn of (your) salvation, (your) stronghold.”

1  Psalm 18:1-3