When I was a child, there was a framed Bible verse that hung on my bedroom wall. I learned it by heart, since I looked at it every night. It is a very comforting verse to know, and it would be a good idea if you learned it too. It says: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver [you], and [you will] glorify Me” (Psalm 50:1515And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)). This is a story of a boy who called on the Lord Jesus for help when he was in great trouble.
Jamil was a little shepherd boy in the south of India. Water was very scarce in that area, and one day Jamil left his faithful ox to guard his flock of goats while he went looking for water for his flock. He walked until he came to an old well.
As he leaned over to see if there was any water, the old wall gave way, and Jamil fell down into the well. Thankfully for him, a small shrub was growing out of the side, which caught his shirt and stopped him from falling all the way to the bottom. Shocked and bruised, he managed to pull himself up to a ledge. Then he thought about what to do.
How would he ever get out of the well? It was impossible for him to climb out by himself, and he was in a very lonely area. In his fear, he remembered that one day when he stopped to hear a gospel preacher in a village, he heard about someone called Jesus. The preacher said that Jesus could be called on for help in time of need or danger, and He would answer. Right then, in simple faith, Jamil begged the help of Jesus.
After having prayed, he calmed down, and as time passed, he started nodding off to sleep. In a half sleeping state, he felt something touch him, and looking around he saw a rope. It was the rope that hung from the neck of his faithful ox, which was now looking down into the well. The ox apparently had come looking for his young master. Quickly Jamil tied himself to the rope and called to his ox to back up. In this way he was able to climb out of the well. Immediately he fell on his knees and thanked Jesus for answering his prayer.
Imagine Jamil’s joy when he learned more about Jesus and came to know the One who had sent the ox to rescue him. Jamil became a Christian and he often told the story of how his life was saved, always giving the glory to the Lord Jesus who hears everyone who calls upon Him. The Bible tells us that “the Lord is [near] unto all them that call upon Him” (Psalm 145:1818The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. (Psalm 145:18)). We can be sure that He heard that lonely and frightened little boy in India, and He will hear you too wherever
you are.
Messages of God’s Love 10/12/2025