As little girls, we all heard the stories.
A handsome prince rides up on a big white horse to save the day. He rescues the damsel in distress, defeats the bad guys, defends justice, and puts everything in order before riding off into the sunset.
Awww…it’s a beautiful picture. I have to admit that there are times in my life when I wish it was true.
When there’s a problem that seems bigger than me…
When I’m in a bad situation and I can’t see a plan of escape….
When the need seems too big, the mountain seems too hard to climb, or the forces of evil just seem too strong to defeat---I have to admit there’s a part of me that wants to be rescued. I wish that there was someone who could ride up on a white horse and be my provider, my protector, my defender.
At the risk of sounding too spiritual or overly religious, what I’ve been learning lately is that when I’m going through these times and my heart is screaming, “I NEED HELP NOW!!!”, I already have a hero---His name is Jesus.
DON’T SHUT OFF YOUR COMPUTER JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK THIS IS GOING TO TAKE A CHEESY TURN!!! Instead, allow me to share my story.
The truth is that I’ve recently gone through a very difficult time in life. Without going into a lot of detail, I’ll admit that after a series of struggles that seemed to have no end in sight, I was at the end of my rope. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do.
Obviously, I spent a lot of time in prayer where I was always met with the comfort and sometimes correction and wisdom of the Heavenly Father. Still, the stress wasn’t going away. The circumstances weren’t changing. On my own, I didn’t have the capacity to make the situation change---all I could do was continue walking through it and hope that things would turn out okay in the end.
The truth was that there was really nothing I could do to help myself.
No matter how much I wished someone else could have helped me, there was really nothing anyone else could do either.
I was facing a God-sized problem, and all I could do was cry out to Jesus and ask Him to help me.
AND THEN HE DID!!!
I hope that I never forget the day that I got the phone call.
Sweet Relief!!!
In a way that only God could intervene, and in circumstances that only He could arrange, He stepped into my situation and said, “Enough. My daughter has struggled enough with this issue---I’m putting an end to it today.”
Talk about a hero riding into save the day!!!
All I could think about was the Scripture in 1 Peter 5:10 that says, “And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Hallelujah!!! That is exactly what happened!!! Yes, God did allow me to suffer and struggle for quite some time, allow this difficulty to teach me, train me, and smooth off many of my rough edges. But then, at just at the just right moment and right time, He reached down from Heaven and He rescued me. (Psalm 18:16)
In that days that followed, all I could feel was loved.
And safe---because of God’s love, I was safe.
I was protected.
My need was provided.
I was defended.
I was rescued.
It was going to be okay….I was going to be okay…because of my hero…Jesus.
The other day in church, our pastor talked about Psalm 67:5 which says, “I depend on God alone; I put my hope in Him. He alone protects and saves me; He is my defender, and I shall never be defeated. My salvation and honor depend on God; He is my strong protector; He is my shelter!”
As he was talking about being at the end of our rope and relying on God, I kept thinking, “I know exactly what he’s talking about, because I was there. I was hanging on by a thread, hoping just to make it through the struggle when the God of Heaven and earth took a moment to intervene and move mountains to rescue me. And I am eternally grateful.”
Perhaps today, you are facing a similar trial. Maybe you feel like you’ve struggled and struggled, given it all you’ve got and yet still you don’t know how to rescue yourself. Today, I offer you a real hope---a hope that’s better than any fairy tale---as I remind you that Jesus will come through for you.
It may not be in your timing or even in the way you’d plan, but if you are living faithfully before Him, loving Him, obeying His Word, and looking for Him for help, He will be everything He promised and He will rescue you.
One of my favorite books in the Bible is Lamentations. It’s written by one of my favorite men in the Bible, Jeremiah. (Read into that what you like). In this book, Jeremiah pours out all of his grief and the deep pain in his heart over the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet, hidden in this sad little book, there is hope. Lamentations 3: 22-25 says,
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
Because of God’s great love…there is hope even in the hardest of circumstances.
In those moments when we’re looking for a hero to ride in and save the day, what we really need to do is look to God, seek His direction, and trust Him to be our defender, our rescuer, our strength, our provision, and our hero.
Because of God’s great love…He will rescue you. He will be your Hero. Let’s pray:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Lord so often as women we tend to believe the old fairy tale that we want to be rescued. We look for deliverance in so many areas outside of You…and too often come up empty. Lord, help us to change this pattern and start turning to You as our Source of defense, strength, provision, and love. Father, I bring before You every woman who is struggling with a need today that seems too big to overcome. God, because You love her, rescue her. Make a clear way of escape for her. Help her to follow Your path in the middle of her circumstances and feel Your love beside her every step of the way.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
