He Often Rescues

“Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.” (Job 33:29-30 AV)

I count on this a lot!  This is God’s mercy!  This is God’s grace!  This is perhaps one of the most encouraging things anyone has ever said to Job.  This truth is sometimes the only truth that will ever work.  This truth is what gets us through the darkest of hours.  I know this for a fact.  Unlike Job, my pit was self-inflicted.  I dug it myself.  I jumped in.  I decided to make some choices that led to deep despair.  So deep that I didn’t think I would ever come out.  But the LORD will not allow His children to stay in that pit.  While we are in the pit, it is easy to forget this.  When we are out of the pit, we know it to be true!

Every once in a while, we read of a small child or animal who fell down a well.  Stories like that seem to come to the front page rather quickly.  It is one of those stories that tug at the heart of all who see or read of it.  I can remember the little 18 month old girl, Jessica McClure, who fell down a well in her aunt’s yard in Midland, Texas.  For 58 hours, it was the only item news outlets covered.  It captivated the entire world.  Rescue crews worked for 2 ½ days to free her and was finally successful.  People from all over the world were struggling to process the reality of this little year and a half old girl, all alone, in the bottom of a well for almost three days.  It was getting perilous because she had nothing to drink and dehydration might have taken her life.  The support from both rescues workers and support personnel was overwhelming.  The whole world was moved to get this little girl out of this pit.

If the whole world will move to rescue a girl they don’t even know, how much more will our God move to rescue us?  He created us and loves us more than words could ever tell.  I know, by experience, these pits can be awfully dark.  No doubt, Job experienced the worst of all.  God may not restore our health back to where it was.  He may not replenish lost loved ones with new ones.  God may not give more physical wealth than we had before. But that doesn’t mean He cannot bring us out of a pit.  He sure can.  He sure does.  And He does this often!