Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God doth go with thee, Who will not fail thee nor forsake thee. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

On a summer morning as he was fixing his breakfast, Ray Blankenship looked out his window to see a young girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage beside his Ohio home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath the road and emptied into a main culvert.

Ray dashed from his home and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the flailing child. Finally, he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. When he surfaced, he was able to grab the girl’s arm. The two tumbled end over end and then, within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray’s free hand felt something protrude from the bank. He clung to it desperately, the tremendous force of the water trying to tear him and the child away.

By the time fire department rescuers arrived, Blankenship amazingly had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock. In that heroic moment, Ray Blankenship was at even greater risk than most people realized–he could not swim.

Today, let your response to the needs of others be made out of courage and trust in God, not out of personal fear.

Holy Creator, in our dealings with one another, may Your Holy Spirit fill us with courage that we do not have. May You guide us and strengthen us to do things that we cannot or will not do on our own!