I Would Have Pulled You Out

Karl Crawford • May 7, 2021

One of my worst nightmares (seriously) growing up was being caught in quicksand. It was not something I should have been too concerned about because I have lived my entire life in Northern Michigan on pretty high ground where I hardly ever read in the local newspaper about some hunter or mushroom picker being swallowed by quicksand.


We didn’t have television when I was young, but every so often we would visit a favorite uncle who did have a black and white set. Am I dating myself yet? And there was one program that ended up with a prison escapee trying to elude the police and he falls into quicksand. The show ends with his hat laying on top of the quicksand and he has been swallowed up. And to make sure that I didn’t forget the image, I saw the same show in reruns—twice. It was the cause of many nightmares.


Had I been that man, I would have wanted someone, anyone, even someone who would have said, “I told you not to go in there” to pull me out. So, the words, “I would have pulled you out, but…” would not have been what I wanted to hear. That “but” and the explanation that followed would seem pretty lame as the quicksand was nearing my chin.


Someone included these words by Kimberly Henderson on a Facebook post, and I include them here because they are so well said:


“I would have pulled Joseph out. Out of that pit. Out of that prison. Out of that pain. I would have cheated nations out of the one God would use to deliver them from famine.


I would have pulled David out. Out of Saul’s spear-throwing presence. Out of the caves he hid away in. Out of the pain of rejection. I would have cheated Israel out of a God-hearted king.


I would have pulled Esther out. Out of being snatched from her only family. Out of being placed in a position she never asked for. Out of the path of a vicious, power-hungry foe. I would have cheated a people out of the woman God would use to save their very lives.


I would have pulled Jesus off. Off of the cross. Off of the road that led to suffering and pain. Off of the path that would mean nakedness and beatings, nails, and thorns. I would have cheated the entire world out of a Savior. Out of salvation. Out of an eternity filled with no more suffering and no more pain.


And oh friend. I want to pull you out. I want to change your path. I want to stop your pain. But right now I know I would be wrong. I would be out of line. I would be cheating you and cheating the world out of so much good. Because God knows. He knows the good this pain will produce. He knows the beauty this hardship will grow. He’s watching over you and keeping you even in the midst of this. He’s promising you that you can trust Him. Even when it all feels like more than you can bear.


So instead of trying to pull you out, I’m lifting you up. I’m kneeling before the Father and I’m asking Him to give you strength. To give you hope. I’m asking Him to protect you and to move you when the time is right. I’m asking Him to help you stay prayerful and discerning. I’m asking Him how I can best love you, and be a help to you. I’m believing He’s going to use your life in powerful and beautiful ways. Ways that will leave your heart grateful and humbly thankful for this road you’ve been on.”


Kimberly Henderson Proverbs 31 Ministries


We all want to be pulled out of the quicksand of spiritual trials, but Joseph, and David, and Esther, would have been cheated out of such spiritual growth and ministry to God’s people if we had done so. And pulling Jesus down from the cross would have cheated the world out of the only Savior. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who knew something about trials, said “there is a cross to bear before there is a crown to wear.”


My wife and I experienced a number of “black years” that radically changed us both—in some good ways, and in some not so good ways. A friend, a Christian counselor, who specialized in helping people who were struggling with a myriad of issues said, “I wish I had known; I would have helped you.” I told him that God did not want him to help me. I needed to experience the depths of that time, to “break me, mold me, fill me, use me” as the chorus says. I had sung that chorus hundreds of times and now God wanted to know if I meant it.


What if someone had thrown me a lifeline and I could have grabbed it? Would God’s plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11) been thwarted? Would I have grown? Would I have written?


This is not an excuse to ignore someone’s pain. But it is a challenge to pray first for guidance, to let the Lord help us to know whether to lift them out—or not. And if we are not to go to them, we should lift them up in prayer.


Psalms 119:71 KJV It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.


2 Corinthians 12:7-10 KJV And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. (9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.


If you have been in a spiritual wilderness for more years than you wish to count, I am saying, through a heart that aches for your healing, that God is just as faithful to His children today as He was to the Psalmist or to the Apostle Paul. He has a purpose in your trial. Look to Him and in His Word for the answer.

Share this Post

Rocked

By Karl Crawford • January 12, 2026
I must admit that my life was rocked by the news of Philip Yancey’s 8-year affair with a married woman.

Getting Ready to Serve

By Karl Crawford • January 7, 2026
I have been in the church my entire life.

The Baby Jesus - The Infant Savior

By Karl Crawford • December 24, 2025
I have thought for many years
shepherds in a green field tending a lock of sheep

The Shepherds Returned

By Karl Crawford • December 23, 2025
Every Christmas season for the past few years, my thoughts have gone back to the shepherds to whom Christ's birth was announced. Everything we know about those shepherds is recorded in just thirteen verses in Luke 2. We all know that story: from the angel’s first, “Fear not!;” to seeing the heavenly hosts, to visiting the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem. They never dreamed they would experience anything like this night—ever! And then verse 20 says, “And the shepherds returned...” Did you ever stop to think about what they returned to? It was the same world they had left only a few hours before. Herod still ruled over the Jews. Roman soldiers had free reign to do pretty much as they pleased. Loved ones still got terminal diseases. Spouses and parents still died way too soon. Hucksters still cheated people out of their life’s savings, even in the temple. Children still went prodigal. And possibly, one of their young sons was killed in Herod’s vendetta to do away with the Baby King. Maybe that father wondered why the Infant Savior was hiding in Egypt and his son was killed. Shouldn’t the Savior save; instead of letting innocent babies die in His place? They had to wonder when they would experience this great joy and peace and goodwill that was to be to all people. We can understand their questions. We can understand why the luster of that night with the angels and Baby Jesus would wear off for the shepherds who returned to the same problems they thought had been put behind them. But we know that the shepherds did not see the whole story. We know “the rest of the story,” that the Baby came back from Egypt, we know that He healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed thousands of people with a young lad’s lunch. We know that He confronted the religious leaders who were perverting His Father’s message. And we know that He went to the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. But just like the shepherds, we live in a world that has not yet been redeemed, we know what it is like to have a dear friend stab us in the back, to have a child go prodigal, to suffer financial ruin, to hear the doctor say, “you have cancer,” or to drive home from a cemetery, leaving behind the dearest person on earth to us. Like the shepherds, we live life on this side of our Lord’s return. Many of us have faced great loss in the past year. Some of us carry a new grief into this Christmas season that we have not known before. But we do not grieve like those who have no hope. We reluctantly yet confidently face the days ahead with a tear in one eye and a ray of hope in the other. We look up for the glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are to live life looking forward, knowing that someday death will be defeated, disease will be eliminated, sin will be judged, and evil will be banished to hell, never to be heard from again. The angel’s promise of good tidings of great joy will be fully realized when we see Jesus face to face and we are reunited with loved ones who have gone on before. The angel said that night long ago, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Just as prophecy was fulfilled in that little Baby in a manger, so will the promise of the Baby’s return be fulfilled. But this time, that little Baby will return as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. And the song will be sung, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” And that is the promise He made, and this is our hope today and every day, no matter what grief our hearts may carry.
Woman in headscarf with baby in a manger, hands touching baby; dim lighting.

When Hope First Spoke

By Jodi Crawford Potgeter • December 19, 2025
Jesus was long before Christmas, long before he was born in Bethlehem.
People overlooking the Grand Canyon at sunset. Mountains and hazy landscape in the background.

Envy the Youth

By Karl Crawford • February 13, 2023
It is common for old-timers, a group in which I am solidly ensconced, to envy the strength and vitality of the youth.  I envy the number of years they have ahead of them.  I would love to do life over again, assuming I would know on the second pass through what I have learned through toil and trouble the first time along life’s journey. But there is no guarantee of days.  The “three score and ten” (Psalm 90:10) is an...
Suspension bridge silhouetted against a vibrant orange and pink sunset sky, seen through tree branches.

Wayne Foote

By Karl Crawford • December 19, 2022
I received news just recently that one of my heroes had left this land for the better one. It was not unexpected, he had been in failing health for many months, needing more and more care from his family to stay in the home he loved at age 91. We, my wife and I, became friends with his daughter and son-in-law many years ago when we all attended the same church. They invited us to St. Ignace to visit Glen...
Woman with head in hands sits by a wall; a dark shadow extends a hand toward her.

God is in Your Crisis

By Karl Crawford • December 10, 2022
We might say to a group of people, “God is in your crisis.” But it is entirely different to look into the eyes of a hurting believer and say, “God is in your crisis.” This morning, as I read a commentary on the book of Isaiah, those words, “God is in your crisis,” popped off the page to me. I underlined them…and then I chewed on them as I drove to work. And God rephrased them, He re-emphasized them, “God...
Sunlight streams through clouds in a blue sky.

Steve

By Karl Crawford • November 24, 2022
I remember the evening a few years ago now when a visitor attended our church service.  He was a slender man with lots of energy and it was obvious he was trying to find a place to sit.  Certainly, he was aware of the rules for the Crawford Section; that we were very selective about someone invading our turf…but alas, he was not cognizant of our rules made for such a time as this.  I made casual eye contact with...
Hands gently cradle two tiny baby feet on soft, white blanket.

Roe v. Wade? Or love?

By Karl Crawford • July 10, 2022
Roe v. Wade is the name of a Supreme Court case decided back in 1973.  A case that has divided much of the nation since that day.  In my social circle in my tiny berg in Northern Michigan the 1973 decision did not have much impact at the time.  Over the years, the gravity of taking the life of an unborn human being by the choice of the mother seemed very wrong to me.  I began to be more involved...