The river was rising, rising fast. Rain and more rain filled it upstream, and now it was tunneling down the valleys and into the river towns. In Falmouth, Kentucky, the Licking River was rising a foot an hour, and the city “filled up like a kitchen sink.” Most people fled with just the clothes they wore.
As the streets filled with the swirling waters a woman pounded on a neighbor’s door. “Get out fast,” she begged.
He only grumbled, “Leave me alone!” and went back to bed.
In West Point, 150 miles downstream, there was a little more time to evacuate. Coast Guard Lt. Michael Hart had boats on the scene, and they offered help to all. In spite of their efforts, some people refused to leave. Told to leave at once by the rescue boat, one man just leaned back in his chair and said, “I’m not going nowhere.”
About 30 people ignored the final request. By Saturday, the flood had killed 18 Kentuckians. As the last of the Coast Guard boats motored out of town, empty, Lt. Hart said sadly, “People, they just think they have to hang on . . . their emotions get in the way of common sense . . . bad decisions are made. You can’t force help on people.”
No, you can’t—not for time, and not for eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life” (John 5:4040And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5:40)).
And nothing has changed. There are still those who say, “Leave me alone!” They align themselves with the unclean spirits of Mark 1:2424Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. (Mark 1:24) who said, “Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth?” That’s not very good company to be in!
Wouldn’t you rather listen to the Lord Jesus saying, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)), and just come to Him while there is time?