Article February 20, 1984 Issue

Never out of touch with God

FREDERICK H. BRIGHTMAN

A handwritten notation in my Bible reminded me recently of the loneliness and uncertainty I had felt the day I wrote it. While thousands of miles from home I had scribbled "Manila" next to the passage in Psalms "a very present help in trouble."^{Ps. 46:1.} I had been praying deeply for courage and a solution to a problem that seemed to offer little hope.

The notation had been made during a prolonged airline strike, which had stranded hundreds of travelers for many days. With money running low and hotel and connecting flights in jeopardy, my situation was bleak. Each passing day the fear and uncertainty compounded.

Yet the delay provided time needed for quiet, earnest prayer, and in the privacy of my room I turned unreservedly to God. The Bible passage "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee"^{Josh. 1:5.} came strongly to mind and reminded me that God's law was right at hand for me. Distance could be no barrier, since God, Spirit, is everywhere.