Trusting God's Rescue Plan

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” –Isaiah 43:2

Have you seen the following scenario on television or in movies, perhaps in a western or a dramatic horse story? The hero’s barn catches fire, putting all the animals at risk. The hero and his family or employees rush into the barn to get the animals out, but the panicking animals refuse to be led through the smoke or flames. They’re too afraid. To get the animals to safety, the people must cover the animals’ eyes, so they can’t see. Then the people can lead the animals out of the burning barn.

It’s a common storyline, I think, but people sometimes act the same way. They resist the firefighters who are trying to get them to safety, feeling less at risk in their little, yet untouched, corner of a burning building than walking through smoke and flames. To rescue the people, the firefighters must convince them to trust.

Like the firefighter in a burning building, God often needs our trust in order to rescue us from troubling circumstances. We may see what’s coming and resist, doubting that God is at work anywhere in the situation or able to help us if He is. We don’t realize that God sees a bigger picture, that He knows He sometimes has to take us through something worse than where we are in order to get us somewhere better. He wants to take us where we can breathe fresh air.

He won’t force us to go with Him, though. He wants us to choose to trust.

And so, when life seems hard and getting harder, we can remember that God is with us, He loves us, and He has a plan. Then we can choose to go where He leads, knowing that the safety of where we are may be an illusion, but the reward of following God is the joy of His Presence, personal peace, and glory for His name.

Father, I don’t always understand why You allow hardship and suffering into my life. I don’t always feel confident when I see where You’re leading me. But I know You are God—all-knowing, always present, and powerful enough to do anything. And You love me as well! I choose to trust. Lead on!

Photo by Elisa Giaccaglia on Pexels

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