Rescued---Message from the Heart

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Somerset, KY (SPA)—For those who do not know, my husband and I love to hunt whitetail deer. We hunt on both private and public lands and both give us our own challenges. It’s not always about the deer; it’s about the experience leading up to, during, and after a hunt. This one hunt a few years ago sticks out. It was full of ups and downs from the experience to the emotional aspect for me. Let’s dive into the story.

There is a section of public land that my husband and I hunt with no cell phone service. We always have a plan of how to get to each other and where to meet, because we do not hunt the same spot. One afternoon, I heard my husband yelling for me. Luckily, he had let an arrow fly and had harvested a deer. Of course, we had to get the deer out of the woods and loaded up into the truck from the 4-wheeler. We are able to get the deer strapped down on the 4-wheeler and about ½ a mile from the truck, the 4-wheeler starts to make some questionable sounds. Unfortunately, it died on us. We faced a dilemma. We were in the middle of a deep holler, no cell service, and a dead deer. Pitch-black dark. 

Luckily the 4-wheeler had enough juice in it to get back to the truck, but it couldn’t carry the load of me and the deer, so I waited with the deer, in the dark, alone. What made things worse, was that we couldn’t just drive the truck to where the deer and I were at, because we had left the truck keys in the backpack with the bow about 2 miles back. Once my husband walked back, we decided that we had no choice but to walk the nearly 2 miles back to the backpack and bow, leaving the deer where it was, hoping no critters would find it. We took a few steps, and we saw lights. The sound was familiar. It was off-road razors coming down the trail in the middle of the night! The night had been saved and rescued by the young men who randomly decided to take the off-beaten path. They took my husband back to get the backpack and bow, while I waited again with the deer. I never felt such relief! We were rescued in a moment that was a struggle and felt hopeless. 

Just like in this story, in our lives we are rescued by Jesus. Not rescued from being stuck in the middle of the woods without cell service, but from the enemy of our souls and from Hell. We are rescued from the hopeless feelings and from being separated from God because of our sin. Not only are we saved, but we are also fully rescued, moved from where we were to a new life in Christ that is safe, and given a promised home in the kingdom of God. We are fully rescued because of the price that Jesus paid for us. 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17 

No matter what you are facing today, the place that you need God to step in and rescue you, he will, because He is faithful. He will deliver you.

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 

• Reflect on a time when you really felt God protect you or deliver you up out of something that was holding you down. Praise him today for that.

• Let the Lord move into any area of your life where you need him to rescue you; however, you must surrender.

Father in Heaven,
The gracious God that you are, renew me and sustain my spirit. Be with and encourage those who labor to help the injured, the homeless, the hungry and those in despair. Bless them father. Soften the hearts of those who would take advantage of tragedy for their own profit so that they may come to know where true joy is to be found. Thank you for your protection and provision in my life. Help those who are struggling to find you. I pray that you will meet them right where they are, and they will have an undeniable encounter with you and be set free in Christ.
In Jesus' name I ask,
AMEN