Twice a Hero

God can instill in us a sense of being ready to take a step of obedience to Him. We prepare by maintaining a practice of prayer and devotion to the Word. 1st Peter 3 says:
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

There are several character traits that we find in these two verses: one is spiritual readiness. We can know the equipping and direction of the Spirit and seek to make sure that the Word of God is foremost in our understanding. We can also have a good conscience, in other words, by God's grace, we can know the right thing to do at any given time.  We can also know that not all will approve of our action for Christ, but we rejoice that we please the Lord.

+++++

Paul encouraged Timothy to spiritual readiness, as we find in 2nd Timothy chapter 4:
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Mykel Gordon is a Chick-fil-A team member in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  In 2018, he was in the restaurant parking lot and observed an accident in which a crane smashed a car in which 17-year-old Hillary Henley and her friend, Madison Newton were.  The Standing for Freedom Center website reported on the story.

Mykel saw what happened and ran to help.  The article says that he was quoted by the Northwest Florida News as saying, “I didn’t have any time to react,” adding, “It was nothing but instinct and I ran to the car. I didn’t pull anybody out because that’s the wrong thing to do in that kind of situation. I just picked up (Madison) and took her to the side. I told her to calm down and she was all ballistic. She was telling me that (Hillary) was still alive.”

Hillary was trapped inside and was unsuccessfully trying to get out of the car through a small hole in the passenger side door. Gordon assured her that he would help, went inside to get towels and ice, then was joined by a volunteer firefighter, who said: “She wasn’t saying anything. We couldn’t see her, but we knew she was in there. We decided to pull on the door again and it just popped open...She started to wiggle."  Hillary and Madison both walked from the scene and went to the hospital.  The firefighter said it was miraculous.

The article relates:

Hillary’s father, Shannon, also called Gordon’s actions a miracle. “God resonates there,” he remarked. “It’s a miracle in many ways how this happened. But just to have people like this that step forward and make something happen, I know not everybody is gonna do something like that. I’m just real thankful and I wanted to come thank them.”

Mykel Gordon recognized the hand of God, as well, saying, "I think the Lord put me outside,” adding, “As soon as this happened I had prayers in my head. I was helping her. I was on autopilot. My stepdad is a military man and I grew up doing what he was doing. When this happened I knew exactly what to do because of him. I thank God.”

Fast-forward to 2022 - Mykel is still at the Chick-fil-A at Fort Walton Beach. The Standing for Freedom article says that, "...a woman was getting her baby out of her car...when she was confronted by a man wielding a sharpened plank who demanded her car keys." The man, named William Branch, took the keys and "attempted to steal her car." The article says:

Thankfully, she had someone looking out for her. When Chick-fil-A worker, Mykel Gordon, heard the woman screaming, he rushed to help, tackling Branch to the ground and holding him down while help arrived. During the struggle, Gordon took a punch to the face but refused to let go. He was not injured.

And, the turn of events were captured on video.  Furthermore, the article says: "The sheriff’s office also reported that Branch had attempted another carjacking minutes earlier, reaching his hand into another occupied vehicle and attempting to unlock the door. It turns out that Gordon had also chased Branch away from that first car."

Gordon's heroism was recognized the next day by the local sheriff's department. 

The author of the Standing for Freedom Center article, Nathan Skates, wrote:

Whatever our jobs, Christians should face every day ready and willing to serve others. Not once but twice, Mykel Gordon has faced the call to help others, risking injury or worse to himself, and both times he has answered that call without hesitation. Gordon shows high character and selflessness, and whether wearing a badge from the sheriff’s office or a nametag from Chick-fil-A, that is the mark of a true hero.

Through Christ, we can always be ready and willing to do what He calls us to do.  Paul writes to Timothy about being ready "in and out of season," to preach the Word.  In essence, we all proclaim the Word of God by acting in accordance with His principles. 

We can rely on the Spirit so we can remain tuned in to the circumstances around us; not called to be aloof, but alert.  He will produce in our hearts and minds a sense of spiritual sensitivity, and will not only alert us, but equip us to fulfill what He wants us to do.  We can recognize that God guides us to certain locations or circumstances so He can use us. We can learn to know His promptings and to respond the way He intends.