Tonight, our temperatures will be dropping down into the teens with the wind chill well below that. And currently, my toes are cold. I know that most of y’all know what I’m talking about since most of the country has experienced winter storm after winter storm after polar vortex this winter.
But I’m going to take a little trip. It’s going to be a tad chilly, but I want you to come with me anyway. Put on your coat, scarf, gloves, and favorite warm hat, and walk with me a minute. We’re going to trek out onto a glacier. But lo and behold, on our trek, a fluke blizzard sweeps in quickly and we suddenly find ourselves blinded and stranded on this glacier, in a blizzard. We’re lost. We’re exhausted. We’re hungry. We have no idea how to get off this glacier, and we know that in just a few minutes, hypothermia and frostbite are going to become real possibilities. And not much longer after that, we will be facing death.
Don’t despair, my friends! Look! It’s a search and rescue team! We are so thankful that they have arrived and when they gather us up and lead us off the glacier to hot food, warm beds, and medical care, we enthusiastically accept.
I can’t speak for you, but my life has been filled with moments where I’ve felt like I was stranded on a glacier. Those times are dark and cold, and I feel alone. I can’t see, and I don’t know how to get home. With the wind howling and the snow whipping around me, I often can’t hear, either. And so calling out seems like no help.
When I think about it that way, I feel relieved to know that God sends search and rescue teams out there after me. Friends and pastors. Counselors. Or sometimes even total strangers. But I’ll look up from my dazed, frozen place of despair, and see them coming with light and warmth and healing.
Sorge shares a scripture with us in Chapter 11, and I’ve switched translations on you, just because I like the phraseology of this one: “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength….” from Isaiah 30:15 AMP
It seems to me that the smartest way to not get stuck out on the glacier is to not venture out there to begin with. If I’m staying where it’s warm and light and I’m loved (with Him), then I’m not going to end up in the cold and dark alone. But it’s not always that easy. Sometimes, life takes us out there, either because we have to go out there to help save someone else, or because we get distracted and wander out there, or because we see something out there that we believe is so beautiful and wonderful that we just have to go out there to get it. And if you’re like me, you end up out there without shoes and a coat. The good news is that we can always return to Him. And if we ask, He will always send a rescue team for us.
Another important thing to remember is that when God sends a rescue team, trust them. He’s not going to send foolish, untrustworthy people to rescue you. And more importantly, trust Him. If a rescue team comes out on the glacier for me and I refuse to come with them or I fight them the whole way, I’m only hurting myself. And in the end, I will come out of it wounded or dead. And often, hurting other people along the way.
Quietness and confidence are not areas that I’m particularly strong in, I’ll admit. But I like to think I’m getting better. That I’m staying closer to home – to God. That I’m trusting Him more and trusting the people He sends to help me more. And I’m also believing in the promise that He who leads the team out onto the glacier to get me isn’t going to leave me there, but will lead me safely home. (Philippians 1:6)
This post is part of a weekly book discussion on Bob Sorge’s book “The Fire of Delayed Answers.” You do not have to read the book to stick around and chat with us! If you did write a post on this week’s chapter, you’ll find a widget at my co-facilitator, Jason Stasyszen’s place, where you can link it up.
About Sarah Salter
Yes He will.. That Glacier comes in many different forms.. Been there myself… But God is always faithful.
Your analogy reminded me of the story of the man who was drowning in a flood.
He prayed for rescue. A rescue team came walking along the edge off the water offering to throw him a rope. He refused it.
He prayed for rescue again. A boat came along offering him help to climb aboard. He refused it.
He prayed for rescue yet again. A Coast Guard chopper came and offered to lift him to safety. He refused that as well.
He shortly died, drowning in the flood waters. When he arrived in heaven he asked the Lord why He did not rescue him to which the Lord replied, “I sent a rescue team, a boat, and a chopper… what else did you want?”
Ok so it’s a little different. 🙂 But sometimes we find ourselves out on glacier calling for help expecting it to come in a certain way when God chooses a different path. His path will lead us to safety whether it be in faithful confidence or in quiet rest. All we need to do is trust in His guidance and be ready to be both confident and quiet.
I’m so thankful for the “rescuers” in my life. What a great God who loves us so completely. Like you said, we often don’t have the choice of where we are in our situation either because we chose to follow God or people made decisions or whatever else. Through it all, God is meeting us and growing us. Feels scary and out of control, but we can trust Him. Thanks Sarah.
I’ve been wrestling lately with trusting God to answer a prayer for a loved one. But God has graciously spoken words through others to calm my storm. I can trust that even though the answer to my prayers hasn’t materialized yet, God loves this person even more than I do. He will deliver them…in His timing and in His way.
Hearing this word helps me rest in Him and trust Him that an answer is coming!
God is awesome to give us reassurance. He understands how human we are 😉