Perry Noble: Don't Go It Alone

The little old lady stepped onto the machine with a smile on her face, having no clue I’d exited the treadmill at maximum speed. She had no idea what was waiting for her the moment she hit that start button.

I saw her step on the treadmill, and then something on the television screen caught my attention. All of a sudden I heard the sound of a jet taking off and someone screaming, “Help!” at the top of her lungs. I glanced at the treadmill and saw this lady holding on to the arm rails with a look of terror on her face, her legs flying out behind her.

At that point she didn’t need someone to pray for her. She didn’t need to read a book titled Ten Ways to Escape the Treadmill of Death. She didn’t need advice or some sort of cute jewelry with a cross on it to remind her that Jesus is always with her.

She needed someone to come alongside her and unplug the treadmill!

I leaped off the bike, ran over and ripped the plug out of the outlet. Then I helped her sit down against a wall. The woman’s husband, who had been on the rowing machine at the back of the gym, ran over and thanked me for saving her life. I wasn’t sure I’d exactly rescued her from the jaws of death, but I was starting to grasp that she could have been in some trouble if I hadn’t been close enough to help her out.

As I walked out of the gym that day, I couldn’t get that woman out of my mind. I’m sure she’d shown up at the gym that day expecting to walk on the treadmill at a nice, comfortable pace for about 20 minutes and then go home and maybe even bake an apple pie.

But life didn’t turn out quite like she’d anticipated. She hit the start button, and before she knew it, she was in trouble—and quite unable to get herself out of the situation on her own. There’s no way she could have rescued herself. She needed help!

And so do we all....

Whatever the specifics, life happens. We all have those “treadmill moments.” And if we aren’t careful, those situations can send us flying off course, derailing us from the purpose God has for us. We wind up feeling trapped and helpless and alone.

How do we survive those tough times? Is it possible to live an unleashed life even when everything around us is falling apart? It is possible—but to do so, we have to be willing to let other people into our lives. God never meant for us to do life alone. Keep reading