Rescued

"Excuse me, madam.  Is there something I can do to help you?”  A sophisticated man with white hair and a pale linen suit had approached our leader.  He rescued us that day.  I was part of a group of sixteen women, temporarily stranded in a foreign airport.  We did not speak the language.  Our ride had not met us.  We did not have the proper money so some of our luggage was being held hostage by angry porters.  I’m sure we looked desparate!

I remembered this episode when I flipped through my journal recently.  In the margin, at the entry for Galatians 1: 4, I had written, “look up rescue.”  When I used the concordance I found many uses of the word, “rescue,” in the NIV translation.  They refer to God rescuing us from enemies, darkness, evil and trials.

Just last week, I was reminded that my life could have been very different if I had made a different choice when I was young.  I like the word “rescued” better than “saved” because it reminds me that my life was in “dire straits” and God rescued me.  I would be really, really lost without Jesus.  Jesus gave Himself to rescue us from our sins.

The story of the man whose house was surrounded by flood waters reminds us that we have a choice to be rescued.  The police came to the house and warned the man to leave as the flood was approaching.  The man stayed.  His response was “God will save me.”  As the waters filled his lower story, a boat came by and there was an offer to escape the flood by boat.  Still the man stayed and responded “God will save me”.  The water rose so high, the man was on his roof.  A helicopter came by but he refused the offer because “God will save me.”  The man drowned.  The story continues that when the man arrived in heaven he asked God why He didn’t save him.  God replied, “I sent the police car, a boat and a helicopter!”

My response to rescue includes:

Reach for it, Realize it and Recognize it
Expect it
Seek it
Cast my fears away to see it
Unleash my control of the rescue
Enjoy it!  Rejoice in the rescue and give God the credit.

God will always be ready to rescue me.

He is
Reaching to rescue me
Ever ready to rescue me
Supernaturally able to supersede the situation   
Controlling the situation
Unlimited in His love and is ready to rescue me
Eager that each one will be, has been and can be rescued.

God rescues us from eternal darkness and on a daily basis rescues me from situations and myself!  We are rescued once for all, over and over again!