As my wife and I watched a TV interview with a combat veteran a while back and listened to him tell his story, we couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of compassion. It was hard to imagine the suffering that began when  that roadside bomb exploded. In addition to the agony that was immediately inflicted, there were years of surgical procedures conducted in an effort to reconstruct his face. In spite of all that, the strong, confident young man with the altered countenance didn’t spend his time on camera complaining about his appearance or the attack that nearly killed him. Nor did he focus attention on the things he had been through afterward. Instead, what he projected throughout the interview was overwhelming gratitude for the miraculous deliverance God had provided. One phrase he used in describing his ordeal immediately transported me back to a fairly recent moment in my own life – one that’s etched indelibly in my mind and heart. The wounded soldier related how powerful a handful of words had been for him when the voice of one of his fellow warriors broke through the chaos saying simply, “It’s Ok, Sir. We’ve got you.”

A Special Night Begins ~
The incident I experienced was obviously nothing like the traumatic nightmare that the young soldier went through. It actually began as a dinner-and-a-movie date night for my wife and me. We don’t go to movies often, but there was a movie that we’d been waiting to see called “Unsung Hero” and we decided to make it our version of a night out on the town. 

Being “the Gallaghers”, having things go smoothly isn’t something we’re all that familiar with, but that particular date night was different. We side-stepped mood-killing frustrations like drivers who didn’t take their anti-idiot medication and danced around obstacles like finding digital tickets on my phone with an effortless unison reminiscent of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in their prime. We were taking date night to new heights until about halfway through the movie. 

Rising to the Challenge ~
That’s when the emergency hit. I reached into our refillable popcorn bucket and discovered to my dismay that our delicious movie popcorn was nearly all gone! All that was left were those little crumbly things that look like little balls of styrofoam. Now, you know what I mean … We just can’t have that, can we?? An intolerable situation like that could not be allowed to ruin any date night, especially one that was going so well. So, I did what any red-blooded, heroic man would do for the girl he wants to impress more than any other. I grabbed the bucket and headed out to the lobby to get a refill. 

To say the least, an emergency like that calls for haste, which I did my best to apply. But after having accumulated a lot of years and more than my share of joint replacements [4 hips & 2 knees (did you guys catch that? Yep, you got it … I ‘did’ say ‘4’ hips)], my version of haste doesn’t look quite as hasty as it does for most guys. Still, I was walking as fast as I could walk, and I had the popcorn counter in sight when the trip was interrupted. 

An Unexpected Interruption ~
The soles of the shoes I was wearing apparently love ceramic tile floors. Their preference is not just to walk on it, but to stop and give it a slight hug whenever they get a chance. All the rest of me was in high gear moving forward with all I had (I didn’t want to miss the movie, you know) when my right foot held on just a little too long. With no way to stop and nothing to grab, I went down, face first (of course) on the tile 😳 🤦‍♂️. 

I heard the cracking sound of my nose breaking and my mouth slamming the floor, and suddenly blood seemed to be pouring out everywhere. My hands and knees were throbbing and my eyes were blurry as I tried to assess what had happened and what to do. Physical limitations won’t allow me to get up off the floor without something to push up or pull up on so I couldn’t get up. The pool of blood was spreading around me as I tried to crawl toward something to help me try to get up. I could see the legs of some people gathering around me, but I couldn’t talk or lift my head to see any more than that. I guess they just didn’t know what to do. Then . . . after a little while, a hand reached down under my left arm to see if that would be enough to pull me up, but it didn’t work… Shortly after that, I heard this strong, clear masculine voice simply say, “It’s Ok, I’ve got you.”

An Unforgettable Intervention ~
Then, going behind me, two hands gripped the sides of my chest under my arms and with strength I couldn’t imagine, they picked me up. I don’t mean that they assisted me, or that they helped me get up. I was literally picked up like I was a two-year-old kid and carried to the arm of a sofa in the lobby where he sat me down! Then I guess he left, because I never heard another word from him and never saw his face. My wife says God sent an angel. Interesting, isn’t it that we were there to watch the movie, “Unsung Hero,” and God actually provided one for me that very night!

Others immediately began to gather around with offers to call someone and with paper towels to catch the blood flowing from my nose and lacerated mouth. Eventually, we found our way to the ER care we needed and got all patched up. There’s nothing left now to indicate that I ever did a face plant in the theater lobby except the thing that my heart does when I’m reminded of the words, “It’s Ok, I’ve got you.” Those words not only pull me back to that lobby in the movie theater, they transport me to that place where Jesus declares the same thing. He didn’t use the same words the wounded soldier and I heard, but they convey the same power and assurance. In His dissertation about being the Good Shepherd, Jesus said this: 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. (John 10:27–29) NKJV

For me, those words are more than a dictionary definition. On the floor of the theater that night, I learned what “It’s Okay, I’ve got you” feels like because I felt what helplessness means in a way that I never had. I knew what I needed to do, but I didn’t have what it took to do it. With that in mind, I’d like to share just a few reflections on that moment…

• • • The need was immediate, unexpected, and irreversible for me.
    • Intellectual understanding of the situation offered no help. 
    • All the desire in my heart to get up couldn’t get me off that floor.
    • Past accomplishments, degrees, or trophies I’d earned meant nothing.
    • The one who picked me up neither required nor asked for any help from me.

Another Helpless Moment Coming ~
Before I heard those clear, confident words, and before those incredibly strong hands gripped my sides, I felt total dependence and helplessness that was more conscious and deeper than I could ever recall feeling them. I will never forget the feeling of being lifted up off that floor as though I weighed nothing. It always reminds me of a situation awaiting me at some point down the road when I’ll be more helpless than I’ve ever been. That moment may be sudden and unexpected as well, but for me, it holds no anxiety. 

Years ago, I discovered that I was the helpless victim of another, much more disastrous kind of fall. Disabled by sin, I was powerless to get up on my own. Then Someone with compassion I didn’t earn, strength I can’t imagine, and whose face I’ve never seen reached down to me. With the voice of divine authority and the power to bring life out of death, He said to me, “It’s Okay, I’ve got you.” 

You may not have done a face plant on a movie theater floor, but maybe you’re in a situation where you feel wounded, helpless, and desperate. Be assured that Jesus sees you and knows you. And with strength you can’t imagine and love you didn’t earn, He’s reaching out and ready to say to you, “It’s Ok, I’ve got you.”

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • “It’s Ok, I’ve got you.” Those words transport me to that place where Jesus declares the same thing. He didn’t use the same words the wounded soldier and I heard, but they convey the same power and assurance. (John 10:27–29)” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • “On the floor of the theater that night, I learned what “It’s Ok, I’ve got you” feels like because I felt what helplessness means in a way that I never had. I knew what I needed to do, but I didn’t have what it took to do it.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • “Before I heard those clear, confident words, “It’s Ok, I’ve got you” and before those incredibly strong hands gripped my sides, I felt total dependence and helplessness that was more conscious and deeper than I could ever recall feeling them.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
  • “Maybe you’re in a situation where you feel wounded, helpless, and desperate. Be assured that Jesus sees you and knows you. With strength you can’t imagine and love you didn’t earn, He’s reaching out and ready to say to you, “It’s Ok, I’ve got you.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  

Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” 

Check out the Kindle e-version . No Kindle device is needed. E-book readers are included on most computers, tablets, and smartphones. The free Kindle app can be easily downloaded directly from the Amazon site on almost any device.

Click here for a “Look Inside” preview at Amazon.

© 2024 Gallagher’s Pen, Ronald L. Gallagher, Ed.S.  All rights reserved.