May 18

Rescued from Trial

            …and if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes He condemned them to extinction and made them an example of what is coming to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless  (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by their lawless deeds that he saw and heard), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment —especially those who indulge their flesh in depraved lust, and who despise authority.

2 Peter 2:6-10

“The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial.”  As Peter wrote this, he was probably reminded of his own rescue.  He remembered how he was sitting in prison, waiting for his death, chained between two guards with others guarding the cell.  How an angel appeared and released him from his shackles and led him through the guards and to the safety of other believers who were praying for him.  How it took Peter a few moments to realize that he was not dreaming and that a series of miracles had just occurred in order to rescue him.

God’s eyes are on his children, especially those who are in danger.  He is like a parent taking their child to the park.  My kids are so busy swinging or climbing or sliding that they lose sight of where I am.  I never lose track of them.  I watch the exits of the park to make sure that my son will not wander off.  I notice where the most frantic action is on the playground.  I see when they are trying something new or daring and I walk a little closer to them in case fun turns to fear and falling.  Every once in a while my kids will look up to reassure themselves that they know where I am and then get back to playing.

Except my son.  He has never in his life checked to make sure that he knew where we were at the park.  Ever.  He will go about playing or exploring or singing or swinging and never stop to consider where mom or dad are at.  I like to think that it is because he knows deep down that we are watching him and he need not be afraid because we’ve got his back.  It may be that.  It may be something else.  It is hard to tell.

 God’s eyes are on us.  He sees the successes.  He is there for the failures.  He sees the pitfalls and dangers approaching and makes sure that during those times He walks a little bit closer to us.  He provides encouragement and wisdom, sometimes creating a way to avoid danger…often equipping us with the resources that we need in order to make it through the hard times.

One of the things that God equips us with is a moral code…a sense of right and wrong…a conscience, if you will.  Peter writes that Lot was “tormented” by the depravity of his community.  He saw the brokenness and the violence.  He saw the lust and the fear and the pride and the anger and it made his heart ache.  He knew that life could be better…that it should be better.  But he was just one man, a foreigner at that, and how could he make any difference at all?

This world that we live in and work in and play in? This is not our home and the way of the world is not how we were created to live.  It is easy to become desensitized to the violence and the profanity and the lust and the cruelty that we encounter every single day.  But that is not where our hearts are to live.  That is not to become our normal.  We are to live in hope.  We are to live in joy.  We are to live in graciousness and forgiveness even if the world around us does not.  We are to pass these things on to our children by showing them and telling them about God’s goodness in our lives.  It is not easy to return mercy for cruelty.  It is not easy to be generous when surrounded by greed.  It is not easy to speak truth when lies are the narrative of the age.  But God provides and “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial.” 

A moment to reflect:

How do you see yourself as different from the world around you?