What Does 'Rescue' Look Like?

Scripture: You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 2 Timothy 3:10-11

Observation: So God "rescued [Paul] from all of them." Let's see ... in those places, Paul was ... arrested, tortured, beaten, flogged, stoned, and at least once drug outside the city walls because he was presumed dead. That's the definition of "rescued".

Application: God does not "rescue" us from evil by helping us avoid the evil. This is a hard understanding for non-believers - that a good and perfect God allows bad things to happen to those who love him. However, even when we understand this, we have a difficult time explaining "why" that happens. We discuss how perseverance develops character, and the loss of all things teaches us dependence on God, but there are still challenges with understanding this. Often that challenge boils down to two lines of thought:

1) God uses evil - maybe even needs evil - to develop us, and if that's true, then evil is doing God's will, and thus ... it might be good.

2) God has decided to allow evil in order to develop us, and thus God somehow condones evil, and therefore ... it might be blessed.

These are both wrong. God has provided another path, however it relies on the goodness of other. We could have a trouble-free life, but that relies on everyone (including ourselves) doing as God has taught us, and no one does that. And God loves EVERYONE so much that he does not deny others of their free will - that one quality that he gave us that forms us in his image. So when bad things happen to us, they are actually the result of a choice from someone (often our own). Therefore, to "fix" our situation, we can't fix the issue. Instead, we must ... love that person.

Prayer: Okay, God, I just wrote all that, but I have SUCH a hard time understanding it, let alone doing it. It is true that your ways are far above my ways, and your thoughts far above my thoughts. I cannot even understand you. So instead, how about this: I am going to try to let go of my need to understand, and instead by faith lean into your love. I accept that your love is all I need, and thus when bad things happen - and they will - you will rescue me. You won't rescue me by removing the pain or preventing the hurt, you'll rescue me by putting something even better into my life that removes any painful thought and replaces it with the amazing experience of your perfect love. Amen.