week 32

Scripture Reading:

1 SAMUEL 18:1–4

In Need of a Friend

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

PROVERBS 18:24

BONNER DAVIS KNEW the end was near. He had advancing throat cancer, mounting medical bills, and no way to pay for the experimental treatment that could save his life.

A retired forest ranger, Bonner and his wife, Angela, existed on his meager pension and a faith bigger than the Smoky Mountains. Once in a while, he would tell Angela that though he looked forward to heaven, he didn’t want to leave her.

Angela’s answer was always the same. “God knows what we need. Somehow he’ll give us a miracle.”

In nearby Spartanburg, millionaire Olsen Matthews was celebrating his sixtieth birthday. Without any family, he chose to spend his day in his small plane. He’d been in the air twenty minutes when some soul-searching took over. What was life about, anyway? He had great wealth, but no friends. And what if God was real? What if he wasn’t right with God when he died? The possibility set his nerves on edge and made him wish once more for a friend who knew something about God.

Suddenly, Olsen heard a sharp pop and the engine cut out. He stayed calm, then flipped a series of switches to restart the motor, but none of them worked. Now his only hope was to glide the plane down and make an emergency landing. At the same time, the plane could catch a wrong current and plummet to the ground.

“God!” He called the name out loud. “If you’re real, help me. I’m not ready to go.”

Two minutes passed in textbook fashion, but then a strong current dropped a wing of the plane and the craft tumbled. Olsen had a thousand feet to go before hitting land, but then he spotted a lake. That’s my only hope.

“Water, God! Lead me to the water.”

As the ground rushed up to meet him, his plane suddenly fell to the left and hit the lake. There was the rush of cold wetness filling the cabin… then darkness.

Bonner saw the plane free-fall into the lake at the edge of his property. “Angela, quick! Call 911. A plane just crashed into the lake.”

An outdoorsman, Bonner had always been in good shape. But the cancer and meds had taken a toll, and as he ran toward the lake he could barely catch his breath.

The situation was grim. One wing jutted out of the water, but the plane was otherwise buried in ten feet of water seventy-five yards offshore.

Bonner couldn’t catch his breath, but whoever was in the plane was drowning. Bonner uttered a silent prayer, then dove in and swam as fast as he could. After five minutes, he reached the wing and though his lungs were burning, he took a deep breath and dove down. He tried twice to open the fuselage door, and finally on the third try, the door swung free.

Bonner was out of air. He swam to the surface, nauseated from the effort, grabbed another breath, and went back down. This time he found the pilot and felt around until he was sure the person was alone. Feeling as though he could black out at any second, Bonner dragged the unconscious man to the surface. Bonner was completely exhausted, and the pilot wasn’t breathing.

Help me, God. Bonner replayed the words as he kept himself and the man afloat. Swimming with a strength that wasn’t his own, Bonner dragged the pilot to shore. On the beach, despite his exhaustion he managed to administer CPR for three minutes until an emergency crew took over. He began to walk away but then collapsed to the ground.

Angela saw him drop. She called to the paramedics and explained about his cancer. “Help him, please.”

An emergency worker moved quickly and hooked Bonner up to intravenous fluids. They took him to the hospital, and four hours later he went home. Before he left, he heard that the CPR had saved the pilot’s life.

The next day the Davises received a visitor.

“My name’s Olsen Matthews. You saved my life.” The man shook Bonner’s hand. “The paramedics said you were praying out loud, thanking God at the scene.”

“My wife and I were both praying,” Bonner said.

The man’s eyes grew watery. “Thank you for that.” He motioned toward their house. “Could I come in?”

The two men talked for almost an hour. Olsen explained that he’d heard from his doctors about Bonner’s cancer. “I have a check for you. Maybe it’ll help with your medical costs.”

Then Olsen asked Bonner about God. With Angela at his side, Bonner told him about their faith. At the end of the conversation, Olsen and Bonner prayed.

“Could you be my friend, Bonner? Someone I could visit now and then, someone to talk to about God?”

A smile lifted the corners of Bonner’s mouth. “Definitely.”

“Good.” Olsen stood to leave. “I was asking God about a friend when I crashed. And now he’s worked everything out… for me and you.”

When the man was gone, Bonner opened the check and fell silent. The check was for one million dollars. In the note section it read, “Use this to get better.”

Bonner did just that, using the money for the costly experimental treatment. Three years later, in one of their many times together, Bonner and Olsen agreed that God had done more than take part in the miracle of Olsen’s rescue and Bonner’s healing.

He also gave them the miracle of new friendship.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

PROVERBS 17:17