Day 271: Rescue

Revelation 15; Esther 6:14-8:17; Psalm 107:1-22

I love these songs of praise scattered throughout Revelation. In this particular one, it points out the rightness and fairness of God. God's knowledge and wisdom and love are beyond what we can imagine, and because of that, he knows what is right, what is just, and he does those things. It also says that he "alone is holy, and all nations will come and worship" him. What "holy" means is exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness. Yep, that doesn't sound like anyone I know except God. He is the only one worthy of COMPLETE devotion; he is PERFECT in goodness and righteousness. I think one of the points of Revelation and end times, besides judging the world, is to demonstrate God's worthiness of complete devotion, worship, praise, and honor. He isn't a wimpy, stupid, distant God. He is powerful. He is wise. He is real.

Wow, Haman was hung by the very device he built. His pride, jealousy, and hatred made his life go from bad to worse. But Esther was able to save Mordecai and her people. What saved them? A law that the king had written. What I find interesting though, is that the law didn't say 'don't hurt the Jews.' Instead, it said that they could fight back against those who would seek to destroy them. So is God condoning violence? I think what God wants them to do is see life as a battle against our enemies. Whether our enemies wield swords and shields, or they are things like bitterness, anger, and evil, we are to defend ourselves and fight against them. Our God is not a passive God, and I don't believe he wants his followers to be passive victims either.

This psalm talks about how God saves us and what he saves us from. He saves people from being lost in the desert. These are people who feel like their life has no purpose and there is no end in sight to the emptiness of their life. He saves people from their hunger and thirst. Each person experiences either a deep physical or spiritual emptiness that needs to be filled. He saves people from serious trouble. Whatever this may be, it is something very significant, very heavy, very dangerous. It could be financial trouble, family trouble, sin, or something else. God rescues people who were prisoners or slaves, who are bound by chains. Again, this could be figurative or literal. He rescues us from the things that trap us, our sin, our bad decisions, our rebellion, and some people who are in literal bondage, he has the ability to save them, too. God rescues people from darkness. So many live in a spiritual darkness, where sin rules their lives, they can see no good things in this world and they are wandering blindly. God gives light and can save them too. And finally, he rescues people from the pain of sin. When we look back on our lives and see the things we have done that were disgusting, wretched, disobedient, we don't have to feel a deep hurt because of them; The Lord has washed us clean and saves us from the guilt and shame of such things. God is so good!