God to the Rescue- Part One

Several years ago, I came across Psalm 107 and was floored by its beauty and relevance to my life. It changed me.

So in a year like 2020 we must revisit this passage together. It's time that we not just acknowledge God in His Word, but that we DECLARE what He can do as we see ourselves in it.

Unofficially titled, “God to the Rescue”, Psalm 107 shows the Redeemer of all creation stepping into four different types of distressed lives;

1. Those who have been lost (The Wanderer)

2. Those who have been found guilty (The Guilt-Ridden)

3. Those who are sick (The Hurting)

4. Those who have been tossed back and forth by life’s storms (The Sea-Sick)

And you guys, it’s breathtaking.

We are about to unpack what God already has redeemed and what He longs to redeem in your life right now. Instead of throwing a blanket statement like "God is in control" (which He is), this passage instead reveals your story and mine through four specific scenerios.

In Hebrew, "redeem" here in this passage means to reclaim as One's own. This is God's take back of your life. It's His great rescue that will pull you out, up, and away from what's holding you back from fully knowing and understanding His love for you.

You'll find yourself in one of these four descriptions. Maybe even more than one. Over the next two weeks, we will look at each with more of a microscopic view because I want you to see the hand of God in your life, maybe even for the first time.

Ready? Let's do this.

The Wanderer.

The Wanderer goes about their life searching and walking through desert wastelands, looking for a place to settle. Their soul, always craving more, feels lost. They are constantly battling the aches and pains of life as it passes by (vs. 5). Will they ever find real contentment and rest? Will they ever feel like what they have is truly enough for real joy?

This is not a matter that will be solved with time, but rather with a decision to call on God immediately.

Psalm 107:4 says, “Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.” Then verses 6-7 say, “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.”

He led them by a straight way. Are there any more precious words to a weary traveler than those that say your Guide will lead you on a straight and direct path towards rest? Is there anything more gracious than a short-cut to restoration when life's never-ending course has left you beaten and battered?

God redeems the wanderer and God gives rest to the wanderer. The kind of rest that satisfies completely and eternally, not temporarily.

God is a God of direction, plan, and purpose, we just need to give Him our map.

As you choose to follow His lead today, you're right in the place you were created to be; with Jesus. It's here where you can drop your baggage, kick off your dusty shoes, and let your soul rest.

With God, you're already home.

With Love,

Em