I worked as a lifeguard during my summer breaks during college. When you have a bunch of kids in the water all screaming, thrashing, and splashing at the same time, you must look through all the noise and activity if you are going to see that one kid in trouble and in danger of drowning.

Our world looks like a noisy pool of loud opinions, thrashing relationships, and uncertainty about the future. In that noisy mix, people are succumbing to unimaginable levels of pressure. Some have given up hope and are drowning in despair right in front of our eyes. 

Today, be a lifeguard – a spiritual watchman. Look through the noise of life to see your neighbors, co-workers, and fellow believers as individuals. Someone is floating lifeless somewhere in the middle of all the turmoil taking place. It will be hard to see if we allow our attention to focus only on the impersonal noise and its resulting activity. 

As you look across your relationships, the Lord may point out that one person you are to rescue by simply recognizing their presence and their struggle. That personal engagement is many times all a person needs to come back to life because someone noticed their pain and engaged them with love. There is no feeling like bringing someone back from the dead who had given up hope.