Rescued for a Reason

I have been thinking about the word rescue and I'll tell you why in just a moment. The word "rescue" (or rescued) is translated from the original Greek or Hebrew word: to be cut free from (some translations include, with severity) a besetting, perplexing or confusing condition; to set at liberty with rejoicing. Additionally, to be rescued carries with it the idea that there is no way out of a situation. The one idea I found most interesting about rescue is that a person is rescued as a "commissioning or a being set a part for" a work yet to be done. Hmmmmm.

You may be able to relate to at least one aspect of rescue. I know I have been rescued from distasteful situations. I also know I been left "holding the bag" and was not rescued and have paid a price for someone else's situation. In scripture we know Paul's friend Aristarcus helped Paul escape a city during a riot. Paul escaped the riot successfully but Aristarcus was identified as Paul's accomplice and Aristarcus did Paul's prison time for him and was eventually released to help Paul later...Aristarcus was rescued for a reason.

I have been interested with the word rescue because of an experience I had this past weekend when I spoke at men's conference in a neighboring state. While at this conference I was drawn to pray for a man. I believe the Lord said to me, "I have rescued him from many dangers, some of which he has no knowledge of...tell him, 'You have been rescued for a reason'. I spoke these words to him. He told me the following about his life, "My mother conceived me out of wedlock. On the day of her scheduled abortion she met a Christian and she gave her life to Christ. She changed her abortion plans. One day, years later, my Mom and I were driving and a drunk driver came bearing down on us. My mother says 'something took over my driving' and she was able to get out of the way of the drunk driver." (I thought, "Wow!").

BUT (big but here), this past week this same man was doing a drug deal and a Christian friend who had been reaching out to him called him and said, "I do not know where you are or what you are doing but you are in danger and you need to get out of the place you are in right away!" He said something 'came over him' and he ran into some nearby woods. By his own testimony within two minutes the house where he had been doing the drug deal was surrounded by police and everyone in the house was busted--except him! He then said to me, "Once in the woods I realized I was not just running from the house but I was running to something but I did not know what it was." He later said, "I think that I was not running to something but to Someone. Truer words have never been spoken.

Many times in life we let pain and our circumstances define who we really are--especially pain (of our own making?) that we want to escape. I want to close by saying to you that you do not need to let your present pain or difficult circumstances define who you are. However, the healthy and godly choices you make while facing difficulty can FOREVER define your future. If you are needing to be rescued right now and you wonder why it is taking God so long....you just may need to remember that your rescue has a reason.