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Day 6: When You Long for Rescue
Scripture:
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. 7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
~ Ruth 1:6-7
When we find ourselves in a tough place, we look eagerly for a bite of hope. There’s something in us that wants to be rescued. And this shouldn’t be surprising, because that’s the way that God made us. He designed us to be dependent upon Him. And when sin entered the world, God came to rescue. From this point forward, God has been rescuing His people. Our desire for rescue might not start very strong, it may even start with a small longing, that says, “I can’t stay here.”
You may be longing for rescue when you’re overwhelmed by bills and don’t know how to make it another month. Or when you’re waiting for a prodigal child to come home. It could be when your marriage feels stuck and you’re out of ideas, or those times that anxiety keeps you up at night. You might be grieving and can’t imagine feeling whole again, or drowning in shame and want out but don’t know how. If you are here, you know what this longing for rescue looks like.
Naomi has heard that the Lord has visited His people. She hears just a whisper that the Lord has visited His people. In her heart, the longing for rescue begins to stir. This longing for rescue moves her to pack her things and begin the trip back home, one step at a time. But make no mistake, she is not going home because she is strong. She is returning because she is desperate. She’s run out of options and has nowhere to go. And just when she thought everything was going to end, the Lord cracks open the door of rescue for her.
Today may be the day when you’re simply saying, “Please help me, Lord.” And you don’t even know what help looks like. You have no idea how you could be helped, or where to even start. Like a drowning person at sea, you’re just praying that you come up again, but you don’t see a life preserver yet. But even before you see the rescue, God is already at work. He’s already stirring in you that desire for rescue.
What does this longing look like? It could be a growing discomfort with sin, a conviction that won’t go away, a desire to return to church, a hunger for Scripture, or that thought that “I can’t keep living like this.” These are signs God is already rescuing.
Naomi doesn’t have a plan. And the plan she does have is fragile at best. It’s “Go home and hope someone helps me.” That’s it. That’s the whole strategy. And isn’t that where many of us live? You don’t know how to fix your marriage, reach your child, or escape that anxiety. But you just know you can’t stay where you are.
So, her plan is that someone will help her. She’s willing to believe that rescue awaits her, even if she doesn’t understand. Now, we are people who love to plan. We don’t want to do things without a good plan. And to be in a place where we don’t have a plan, or where the plan that we have seems pretty pathetic, is not a fun place to be. Our plans are often survival plans, often small and reactive. Thankfully, God’s plans are large and redemptive, freeing us from trying to carry our own strategies.
But make no mistake, God is in the business of rescuing people who don’t have a plan. In fact, He usually doesn’t use their plan. He uses His plan. And Jesus is the kind of savior who responds to even the faintest cry for a rescue. He doesn’t need you to shout it out with a megaphone. In fact, we are reminded in Romans 8 that even when we don’t have the words, the Spirit is interceding for us. And Jesus hears these cries and responds to them. Just like He will with Naomi.
One of the lies we fight is the belief that Jesus is tired of rescuing us. We think that He’s frustrated, disappointed, or fed up with our repeated need. But that is not the Jesus of Scripture. He is the Shepherd who leaves the ninety‑nine, the Father who runs to the prodigal. He is the Savior who pulls Peter out of the waves again and the Redeemer who restores Naomi’s empty life. Remember He does not roll His eyes when you cry for help or sigh in frustration when you fall again.
He does not hesitate to come near, but He delights to rescue His people. No, He doesn’t get tired of it. Jesus is better than the rescuing you have in mind. Your rescue includes the problem you want fixed or the pain you want gone. His rescue is Himself, where He enters your trouble and carries you through it.
Pastor Josh Gerber
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