Dear Amy,

How many times will the Lord rescue? Isn’t once enough?

“Because she loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue her”

― Psalm 91:14

To be honest, my Bible actually says this:

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him”

But gender is of no consequence here. What matters is this: the pronoun is singular.

Some think the only rescue is the body-and-blood-of-Christ one that saves us from our sin and brings us into relationship with our Heavenly Father, but that’s just the beginning. Notice this: “Because she loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue her”. This is someone who is already in relationship. The rescue is ongoing!

The Fourth of July this year should have been the last day of my life. I was in Rarotonga, in a kayak, in a place I shouldn’t have been on that monster-surf day, caught in a rip in the Avaavaroa Passage. The waves were pounding on the exposed reef, and after ten minutes, two capsizes, and exhaustion, I knew I was going to die. I cried out to God.

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him”

A huge wave rolled in, picked me up, and carried me on the boiling white-water all the way to the inside, a hundred metres or so, to the calm water in the lagoon, with the only thought in my head being, “Why am I not capsizing? This is impossible!” And it was.

I had been a silly boy, but there was no judgment from the Lord. All I received was this.

“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him”

And so it is, regardless of whether the crisis is quite so acute as was mine, quite so physical. Perhaps the one is in community, well regarded, serving the Lord. But nevertheless captive. Oppressed.

“Because she loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue her”

Know this, Amy, the rescue is ongoing! 🙏