Article December 6, 1999 Issue

In the midst of an attack, a transformation

God is always with you.

By Connie Hays Coddington

THE TELEPHONE RANG in my motel room in El Salvador. When I answered it, I heard the voice of the young man who just a couple of days before had abducted me and attempted to rape me. He had found out the number of my room because he worked at the motel. Now he was asking if he could take me to dinner at the restaurant in the motel.

My first response was, "You've got to be kidding!" After all, a few days earlier he had tried to attack me, and although God had saved me during that experience, I didn't want to knowingly put myself in danger again. Still, questions kept coming to my thought: Have you been healed of fear and anger toward this man or not? Did you see him as the image and likeness of God or not? Has he changed since the encounter? Is the healing complete? The answer came immediately, "Yes!" That's why I answered, "I will go to dinner with you."

The Psalmist assures us that God is "a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). God is always with us, and His presence is practical—the help we get from Him is tangible. Thinking of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, the Psalmist sang, "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses" (Ps. 107:6).

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