You come to my rescue

I had just enjoyed an evening of great worship music with Acappella. They sung inspiring new songs and favorite oldies, including my all-time favorite “Rescue.” I got to sit with my sisters and daughter. I saw old friends and made a few new ones.

Now I was in a hurry to get home. My husband had been out of town all week, but had just arrived at the house and was waiting for my return.

The parking lot was full of people heading to their cars. I pulled out my key, inserted it in the lock, then...HONK-BEEP-HONK-BEEP!!!

How long can a car alarm scream? In real time, a few minutes; in emotional time, it seemed more like 30.

I jumped in anyway, hoping for a quick get-away. But the engine wouldn’t turn.

I’d wait it out. The temper tantrum finally stopped, but the truck still refused to take me home. Instead, it renewed its HONK-BEEP-HONK-BEEP with extra vigor.

I needed a rescue.

My knight-in-shining-armor (a.k.a. Jeff) drove up, unlocked the truck with his remote (met with silence—no alarm), turned the ignition (cranked the first time), and all was well.

I’m always in need of a rescue of some sort. Sometimes it’s not very serious—like a honking car alarm or a store-run for Diet Dr. Pepper. Sometimes it’s more dire—like waiting with me in a doctor’s office or advising me on how to handle a child’s tears.

How many times has Jesus come to my rescue?

There was the initial time 35 years ago. But since then, he’s rescued me over and over and over and over. Every day he rescues me from something, from somebody, from myself.

Sometimes I get tired of waiting on his rescue, and I devise my own thin plan. Or I outsource my deliverance. Or I don’t see him when he does come. So I mess up. My plans are too shallow and dry up quickly.

But because he has delivered me from myself so many times in the past, and rescued me from stupid mistakes and sins I commit in the present, I should confidently and expectantly await his rescues in the future.

Every day. Every time. Every temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). His faithfulness far exceeds my own (2 Timothy 2:13). As does his grace, his peace, his forgiveness, his strength, and his wisdom. His love.

I want to depend more and more on his rescues. They’re the sweetest, safest, and surest. And my life and joy depend on them.

So I sing with Acappella:

So Lord, oh Lord, I just want to thank You 
For coming, for coming to my rescue.

Lyrics:

Lord You know everything I've done
Every thought I've had, You know every one
And Lord You know every time I fall
Still You come to my rescue when I call

Lord You hear every idle word,
Every thoughtless deed, how it seems absurd
That Lord You give, not what I am due
But mercy; You come to my rescue

You come to my rescue, rescue

Lord You care and You've become my friend
Amazing love whose boundaries have no end
And Lord You show what a greater love can do
By being there for my rescue

And Lord I give all I can give (all my heart)
All of my heart as long as I shall live
So Lord, oh Lord, I just want to thank You
For coming, coming to my rescue

You come to my rescue, rescue

It's hard to tell You just how grateful I am
But I'm still gonna make it show
With every breath gonna let You know

I am accepting though I can't comprehend
How I could be worth the cost
When I was bound, despised and lost

Lord I give all I can give (all my heart)
All of my heart as long as I shall live
So Lord, oh Lord, I just want to thank You 
For coming, for coming to my rescue

You come to my rescue, rescue
He is always there for me
And he'll be right, right there for you
Oh Lord I know I don't deserve it
But you love me anyhow
You come to my rescue
Keep on coming to my rescue