Rescued

You are weary, I know.  

The shame of your past weighs heavy on you, and the hurts and wounds inflicted by others leave you feeling weak and damaged. 

So much has happened, and you feel like crawling up in a little ball and hiding under a rock or maybe just running away and taking on a new identity on an island far away, complete with 24-hour all-you-can-eat-and-drink buffets.

But God wants so much more for you than that.

You know that arcade game, the one with the crane you have to maneuver just right to claw out one of those high-quality stuffed animals for a mere $50 after numerous failed attempts?

Sometimes, you feel like one of those little plush toys, just lying there, waiting for someone to come and get you and take you home.

I have some good news. God is coming to claw you out, my friend.  

He sees you down there, weary and tired, and He wants nothing more than to rescue you and pull you out of that heap.  

God is calling your name; can you hear Him? 

His grasp on you is so precise that all you have to do is reach for Him, and God’s got you!

And now that He has you, He is going to love you and squeeze you and hold you until all you feel is His unending, beautiful love.

All the shame, pain, and sorrow are replaced by love, forgiveness, and unending joy.

You are found.

You are rescued.

You are loved.

You are free.

Isaiah 41:10

Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].

Psalm 18: 1-2

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Isaiah 46: 3-4

Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Luke 1: 76-79

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.