I don't think I've ever met anyone who doesn't like superhero movies. That's because I believe that deep down in all of us is a desire to be rescued by someone from a certain crisis or problem that we may be facing. We know that God is a God who rescues, but when the time comes that we are caught in a mishap and we need God's help, we can often be more quick to call out "Why did you leave me?" instead of "Save me, Lord!"
I love reading Isaiah 43 where God gives a promise to the people of Israel that He will come to their rescue. Verses 2 to 4 really capture the power of the promise God makes: "When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel, who saves you. I will give up Egypt to set you free; I will give up Ethiopia and Seba. I will give up whole nations to save your life, because you are precious to me and because I love you and give you honor."
This promise is not just an empty promise. Over and over again, God has come through in rescuing not just in days of old but even today. The Old Testament alone makes mention of no less than 500 instances where God came to rescue someone.
There are really two issues we face when we battle with God being our rescuer. Sometimes we battle with the thought that God can rescue us and other times we battle with the thought that God will rescue us.
Can God rescue us? Without a shadow of a doubt He can! Isaiah 59:1 says, "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear." God is all powerful and all capable and will rescue us from any physical, spiritual or any form of harm that may come our way.
More often the struggle really is with the idea that God will rescue us. We know that God has the power to save, redeem and reconcile, but why does it sometimes feel like He won't do it? Psalm 27:14 captures perfectly why and what we should do in response: "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
God sometimes asks us to wait, not because He's late or too busy, but because He wants us to learn to trust Him more. Often God will allow us to be in jeopardising situations, whether with health, finances, calling or even relationships - to train and remind us to put our full trust in Him. And in the nick of time, He will save. I don't think there was ever a time in my life that God did not come through and I'm sure that you can say the same. That is because we have a God who saves the day and never fails to do so.
