Rescued

Rescued

I was going through the motions and living day to day,
no purpose or direction, never taking time to pray.
Church was long forgotten, my faith shattered and torn.
Salvation was a distant light on some forgotten shore.
Then in my darkest hour, in a moment of despair,
I turned to God in guidance; I turned to God in prayer.
I put aside my selfish wants and asked him to lead
He answered me in his own way and he fulfilled my need.

Life started out so simple, when did things get so hard?
When did I quit trusting? When did I raise my guard?
I tried to do the right things but still I came to harm.
I realize that I was going into war unarmed.
I tried to go to battle, tried to do it on my own.
Without God’s presence in my life I was hopelessly alone.
He pulled me out of darkness and armed me with his Word.
God is my shield and armor, my Savior and my Lord.

Rescued by hope, rescued by faith in God’s forgiving Grace.
Open your heart and trust in him, he’ll answer you.

(Lyrics by Carmen Carothers)

Years after the death of Joseph and his family, their descendants (Israel) were enslaved in Egypt by the Pharaoh (or king) of the land.  They were treated very harshly, and they cried out to God for help. In response to their cries, God called a man named Moses to lead his people out of Egypt to a bountiful land called Canaan.  God told Moses to go to the Pharaoh and tell him to set all of the Israelite slaves free, so that they could move into a land that God promised them.

To provide some perspective on this request, first, Moses should not have been alive.  Moses was born into an Israelite family at a time when the Pharaoh had just given the order to kill all of the male babies, in order to control the population and prevent a slave uprising.  To protect him, Moses’ mother hid him in a basket in the river. There he was discovered by the Pharaoh’s daughter, who raised him as her own in the courts of the Pharaoh himself.  

Although raised as an Egyptian, Moses took pity on the Israelite slaves.  When he witnessed an Egyptian harshly mistreating one of the Israelite slaves, he killed him and hid the body.  His crime was discovered, and Moses fled Egypt. Now a fugitive, he started a new life away from Egypt. 

Forty years later, he was tending his father-in-law’s herds when he encountered a burning bush and the voice of God commanding him to return to Egypt and free the slaves.  Moses tried to argue with God about this assignment.  

Before we come down too hard on Moses, let’s take a closer look.  Moses was raised in a palace, took pity on his fellow Israelites and killed an Egyptian abuser. Instead of being thankful, the Israelites turned on him.  Now he has fled for his life for his crime, settled down to raise a family, and thinks he has put the whole Egyptian nightmare behind him for 40 years. Furthermore, the Pharaoh relied on the slaves to increase the wealth of Egypt, and he was not exactly happy with Moses for killing one of his men. Now a burning bush tells him to go back? 

Moses was quick to tell God that he felt completely incapable of doing this job.  Fortunately, God did not need Moses to accomplish the task – only to obey his command.  Moses eventually did what God asked and, through him, God freed Israel through a series of plagues that left the Egyptians devastated.

The last of these plagues was the most devastating of all.  God sent the angel of death through Egypt to kill all of the first-born sons.  The Israelites were warned to protect themselves and their children from this plague by placing the blood of a lamb on their doorposts as a sign for the angel to pass over.  (This is now celebrated as Passover, and it was an Old Testament symbol of Jesus – the Lamb of God – who shed his blood for the forgiveness of our sins and protection from spiritual death.)  Pharaoh released the Israelites, and God led them out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Yet even then, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased them into the desert. God delivered them again by parting the Red Sea so they could walk across safely.  When the Pharaoh and his men tried to follow, God released the waters, and they died in pursuit.

You might think that the Israelites, after seeing such a series of miracles on their behalf, would learn to trust in the God who had rescued them from bondage. But sadly, that was far from the truth.  They complained and whined almost continually once they were free and even wished to be slaves again. When they reached the Promised Land, they shrunk back in fear because they didn’t think that they could defeat the Canaanites who were living there.  The very people who witnessed the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea – the people who had watched God defeat the Pharaoh and the entire Egyptian army – didn’t trust him to take them into Canaan! Had they forgotten so quickly?

We, like the Israelites Moses led, are slaves.  We are enslaved by sin. We are mired down by worries, guilt, secret desires, addictions, bad choices, anger, fear, and a hoard of other miserable consequences, brought on by our sin and rebellion.  We are not capable of escaping on our own, nor is there any human capable of such a task, regardless of their college degree or the popularity of their talk show.  

But God is waiting to rescue us.  He can pull us out of the quagmire.  He can lead us to truth and freedom if we will let him.  All we need to do is turn to him in prayer and then trust him to act in our best interests.  Then, we need to remember what he has done for us the next time that things get rough.

Rescue begins with prayer.  God desires a relationship with his children, and the closer our relationship to our Divine Maker, the more we will be able to break the bondage of sin through the power of his Holy Spirit.  

How do you get closer to God?  If you are a believer, God is living inside of you, so he is already close, and he already loves you, regardless of how much or how little you talk to him.  But, by talking often with him, it will open you up to the freeing power of his Spirit. Talk to him just like you would talk to any other person who cares for you.  Recited prayers can be fine, but they should only be a starting point. Think about how you would feel if your parent, spouse or child came to you every day and simply recited something to you instead of actually talking to you.

God is listening.  Just talk. And then listen without distractions.  Yes, God speaks. Sometimes he talks audibly, sometimes he talks through others, sometimes he gives you a strong impression, and always he speaks through his Word.  

Related Devotional

Reset Part 6: The Complain Train

Stormiest Omartian has several books on prayer, including “The Power of a Praying Husband,” “The Power of a Praying Wife,” and “The Power of a Praying Parent” that are great reads and can help you kick start your prayer life. 

For more articles on prayer life, here are some options.

“Prayer for Beginners” by Marshall Segal with Desiring God Ministries:
Prayer for Beginners

“How to Pray:  5 Practical Tips” by Betsy de Cruz:
Prayer for Beginners

“Prayer 101:  How Do I Talk to God” from Billy Graham Ministries:
Prayer 101: How Do I Talk to God?

If you want to watch a wonderful movie on the power of prayer, try “War Room”.  

Music and lyrics by LuAnne Barnet.  Copyright (c) 2004 LuAnne Barnet.  All Rights Reserved

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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