Erin Wilson, 24 years old, drove out to the Klamath Mountains near the Trinity River in Northern California. Seated next to her in her pickup truck was her 2½-year-old Belgian Malinois dog named Eva. Erin worked as a waitress, and one of her favorite things to do on her days off was to hike in the mountains.
They drove to a remote trailhead and parked the car. Eva was full of pep and energy. Belgian Malinois dogs resemble German Shepherds but are slightly smaller. Eva only weighed 55 pounds. They are loyal, intelligent, obedient and athletic. They often work as police or military dogs. Erin grabbed her light backpack, locked the doors of the truck, and started walking down the trail.
Eva kicked up her heels and ran ahead enjoying the outdoors. Erin was walking a couple hundred feet behind her. They had only gone a short distance when a mountain lion, who had concealed himself behind a bush, jumped out at Erin and with a lightning quick swipe raked his claws across her shoulders. Erin’s heart leaped up into her throat. The cougar was crouching and sizing her up to attack again. All Erin could think of was to call out for help.
“Eva!” In a loud voice she called out to her dog.
Eva heard the troubled call. She turned and saw the cougar crouching as if to attack her mistress. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t count the cost to herself. She ran as fast as she could, which was really fast, and lit into the cougar before it could attack Erin again. The cougar and the dog fought tooth and nail, rolling on the dirt trail.
Intense Battle
The cougar was an experienced fighter. All its life it had gotten its food by killing its prey. It weighed twice as much as the dog. The only fighting Eva had done was with her litter mates for fun.
Eva gave the fight her all. She didn’t think about turning tail and running. It never dawned on the dog that she should do anything but fight in order to protect Erin. But Eva was no match for the highly skilled predator. Soon the cougar got its jaws around the dog’s head and clamped on tight.
Erin saw the body of the dog go limp and thought, “Oh no. She’s dead.” Then she saw the dog was still breathing and the one eye that was still visible was moving. She couldn’t stand to watch idly by as the cougar slowly killed her dog.
She grabbed a stick and “wham” smacked the cougar over its head, but the cougar didn’t release its hold on Eva’s head. She straddled the cougar and tried to gouge out its eyes with her thumbs and fingers, but still the cougar kept its jaws clamped on the dog.
She decided to run back to her car and get a tire iron to fight the cougar and pry the dog free. On the way back she saw another motorist driving down the road. Erin, waving her arms, flagged down the car.
It was a woman in the car. “Do you have a gun or anything I can use as a weapon? A cougar is trying to kill my dog,” she asked frantically.
The woman, seeing the panic in Erin’s face, responded quickly, “All I have is pepper spray and a piece of PVC pipe,” she said.
She parked the car and together they ran up the trail to the scene of the fight.
The cougar was dragging the dog off the trail into the mountain forest. The two approached the cougar yelling and screaming and waving the PVC pipe over their heads. The two women ran up to the cougar. When they sent a stream of pepper spray towards the big cat, it didn’t know what hit him. He left the dog and ran off into the woods.
Hunting for Help
Eva wasn’t moving. She was bleeding from wounds on her head and body.
Erin scooped up the body of the dog into her arms and carried her back to the pickup truck. The nearest veterinarian was about an hour’s drive away at the speed limit.
But Erin didn’t do the speed limit. She put the pedal to the metal and raced down the country highways as fast as the truck would go. Eva went into convulsions a few times where her body started shaking uncontrollably.
“Hold on, Eva, please hold on,” Erin tried to comfort her.
The veterinarian dropped all his appointments so he could work on Eva. He hooked her up to an IV, gave her antibiotics, and stitched up her wounds. Eva spent a week at the animal hospital before Erin took her home.
Nothing was too good for the dog who had saved her life when Erin got her back home. She got a new comfortable dog bed and brand new chew toys — the kind Eva loved. The chef at the restaurant where Erin worked saved a big piece of prime rib to cook for the dog as soon as Eva would be well enough to chew the solid food.
“Eva!” Erin had called out when she encountered the cougar — and the dog came running. The dog didn’t hesitate because she loved Erin.
Our Rescue
Do you know, in much the same manner, the Lord Jesus loves you and came to give His life for you at Calvary’s cross? Do you know how much He loved you? He was willing to die on your behalf on the cross.
He knew your desperate need. “The wages of sin is death.” And He knew that “death” included eternal punishment. He knew the suffering He would have to endure to set you free, yet He didn’t hesitate in the least bit.
He gave His life so we who deserve death for what we have done might live through Him. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).
Sin, death and hell confront each one of us. These three things have the power to overwhelm us completely. They will take many souls by ambush because people nowadays don’t like to consider eternal things and they won’t be ready for them. People prefer to go through life oblivious to the dangerous consequences of sin. “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” seems to be the motto of choice for many. But it doesn’t work, because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). The sin we have done has left a stain on our record that will keep us out of heaven. Only the blood of Jesus can wash it away.
To deliver us from the clutches of this enemy, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). So that we can have victory over sin, death and hell, Jesus battled the powers of darkness in our place and completely overcame them.
We had no power in ourselves to fight our enemies. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)). He fought the battle alone.
The Lord Jesus was slain and was buried, but He arose from the grave. The resurrection of the Lord from the dead gives those who believe in His name great assurance that all He said is true and that He really defeated the powers of darkness at the cross. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the cause of great joy for those who believe.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). There is no other way to be shielded from Satan’s wish to do us harm but through faith in Christ.
Erin called out to her dog to save her. Will you call out to the Lord to save you? “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)).