Welcome to the Daily Chizuk. The Gemara in Masechet Sotah says, “Kol hamerachem al habriyot, merachamim alav min hashamayim.” Anyone who has compassion for people, Hashem will have extra compassion for them. The Pasuk (verse) in Tehillim says, “Ashrei maskil el dal, b'yom ra'ah yemaltehu Hashem.” Fortunate is the one who contemplates the needy. On the day of trouble, Hashem will save him.
The Dubno Maggid explains that there are two types of people who do kindness. One type of person, if they are asked to help, will do it with a smile, but they don't actively pursue it. Another type of person is always thinking, “Who could I help? How could I help?” They look to do chesed (kindness). Sometimes the way Hashem deals with us depends on the way we deal with others. The first type of person helps when he's asked. So too, when he calls out and asks Hashem for help, Hashem will be there and Hashem will help him. But there are times that he doesn't know he needs help and he doesn't know to ask, or he doesn't know how to ask. How do you get help in that situation? The Dubno Maggid says that if you actively look to help others, even when you're not called upon, then Hashem actively looks to help you, even if you didn't call him. And that's what it means: Ashrei maskil el dal. Fortunate is the one who uses his sechel (intellect) and looks for ways to help, because then, b'yom ra'ah, when he needs help, yemaltehu Hashem: Hashem will ask for help. He will actively pursue his salvation.
Someone told me a story the other day about a man who was shopping in Walgreens and noticed an older lady from the community who looked like she was a little lost. He decided to go over to her and offer his assistance. He asked, “What are you looking for? Could I help you?” She had a piece of paper with an address on it, and she showed it to him. He said, “You're not at this address. Do you need to go there?” She said, “Yeah, thank you.” He went out of his way to drive her to that address. When they got there, he asked, “Is this your house?” She said, “No.” “Do you know who lives here?” he asked. She said, “No.” He realized she must have Alzheimer's. So he took her to the police station, and they said, “Don't worry, this happens all the time. Just leave her here, and someone will eventually call for her.” He said to himself, “If this was my mother, would I just leave her here?” So he decided to go down the block. He got her a bagel and coffee, and he sat in the police station with her for an hour and a half until a family member tracked her down.
That night, this man's mother calls him from Florida and says, “You're not going to believe what happened to me today. I was driving on the highway, and I got a bad flat tire. I had to pull over. There I was, stuck on the side of the road, with the cars whizzing by me, and I didn't know who to call. A car pulled up behind me with four men, who looked a little scary, and they asked me if I needed help. I said, ‘No, I'm okay.’ But they insisted, and they changed the tire right there for me. After they finished, I offered to pay them, and they refused. They said, ‘If you were our mother, would we charge you?’” The man couldn't believe his ears. Those are the same words he used that day when he helped out that lady. Have a great day.