Rescued!

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I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. — Psalm 40:1-3

Unless you have been totally disconnected from the news lately, which is possible given the current operations tempo, you have heard of the rescue of the 33 miners from the collapsed copper mine in Chile. The jubilation of the entire world has been heartening, as these men were individually hoisted to the surface October 13th in a rescue capsule from sixty-nine days trapped a half mile underground. Some call it a “miracle” . . . others call it a world-wide collaboration of technology and endurance . . . many say it has inspired all of us to still believe in the indomitable human spirit.

The human stories are fascinating. Watching all of this unfold on TV has captivated our imaginations in days when most of the news is not so good. We are hearing press reports of their requests for toothpaste and Bibles, their prayer group, their realistic optimism for survival which led them to organize into teams monitoring gas levels in the pit and managing packages which were passed down to them. We are hearing about the first seventeen days before they made contact with the outside world and how they shared the little bit of tuna fish and drinks. In the days to come I’m sure we will hear much more about their unit cohesiveness and how faith in God was a “force multiplier” in surviving their ordeal.

But Wednesday, as one-by-one these courageous men were brought to the surface by rescuers who had worked tirelessly to insure their safe return to anxious families, we could only pause to thank God for this successful recovery effort. Even the miners’ beige T-shirts, provided by Chilean Campus Crusade for Christ staff, gave this message in Spanish . . . “Thank You, Lord” on the front and Psalm 95:4 on the back, “In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him,” a favorite verse of one of the miners.

I can’t help but see this miraculous “global” event as a picture of what is taking place in Iraq and Afghanistan every day—the rescue of countries in bondage to terrorism, brought to the hope of democracy and freedom. People enslaved to tyrannical governments now given a chance to thrive . . . women living under inhumane circumstances now free to seek new opportunities . . . children now receiving education and medical treatment who would never have had that privilege. It is an ongoing battle, a costly battle, but the truth is that people are now seeing a glimmer of hope for a new way of life—and they have you, the American service member and your family, to thank for your sacrifices which make that possible.

From darkness to light . . . from death to life . . . from captivity to freedom . . . from hopelessness to joy . . . we have seen it in Chile and in southwest Asia. And truly it is the picture of what we have in Jesus Christ. He is our ultimate rescuer. From the darkness of our sin to the light of forgiveness . . .  from eternal death in hell to eternal life in heaven . . . from captivity to Satan’s deception to the freedom of Truth . . . from the hopelessness of despair to the joy of the Holy Spirit . . . Scripture proclaims this story—the story of salvation through the shed blood of our Savior and Lord:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” — Ephesians 5:8,9

“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” — Colossians 1:13

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners. . .” — Isaiah 61:1

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” — Galatians 5:1

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” — Colossians 2:8

Let’s take this one step further . . . Are you trapped by an addiction or sin even though you are fighting for someone else’s freedom? Have lies ensnared you like those who barely survive in oppression? Are you like the miners . . . hoping for a plan to escape—a plan to bring you up out of darkness? Jesus Christ, who was Himself entombed for three days and resurrected, has a good plan for your life—through His grace He can and will rescue you. Because of His blood shed at the cross for your forgiveness you can experience the joy of freedom just like we have seen in Chile and in what you are fighting for.

But even better—Jesus gives eternal freedom, eternal joy—not just momentary, based on relief from circumstances.

“. . . if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” — Romans 10:9,10

Do you want to be saved?  God has a rescue plan. . . .believe in His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Savior and Lord. Like the psalmist says in the verse above, He will bring you up out of the pit!

For more on God’s plan for salvation, go to 4spirituallaws.com.

Questions to Share:

1. Share your thoughts with each other about the miners’ rescue in Chile.

2. How does it remind you of your military rescue efforts in other parts of the world?

3. How does it remind you of Jesus’ rescue mission to save us?