“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me.”
Psalm 18:16-18 NLT
David recorded that he was in a weak, defenceless moment, ”in distress“, when his enemies attacked him, but his plight attracted God’s attention, with the result that “He reached down from Heaven” and rescued David. David recorded that the “Lord supported [him]”. The language David used to describe his predicament and how God came through for him, was graphic and very descriptive, but David wasn’t literally in “deep waters” I’m sure. But he felt as though he was, with his anxiety and fear in danger of drowning him in a sea of emotional turmoil. The reality is, though, that he knew God would rescue him, no matter what the circumstances were.
There is a Bible story about a man called Jonah, who was literally in distress because of “deep waters”. We read in Jonah the account of how he was running from God and ended up being thrown into the sea to stop a storm – “Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea, and the storm stopped at once!” (Jonah 1:13). Every child I’m sure knows the next bit, “Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). In the second chapter of Jonah we read in his prayer from inside the fish, “You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. The mighty waters engulfed me; I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves” (Jonah 2:3). Graphic details follow of Jonah’s experience in the sea, “I sank beneath the waves, and the waters closed over me. Seaweed wrapped itself around my head” (Jonah 2:5). Like David, Jonah prayed earnestly to God because his life was in danger, and this part of the story ends with Jonah being vomited out onto the beach.
In the comparison between the two accounts, David was in deep emotional waters, and Jonah was in deep physical waters. But there was no difference between the two circumstances in the sense that both men needed to be rescued. And it was only God who could make that happen.
We pilgrims may also come up against circumstances over which we have no control. Perhaps an issue at work, or college. Perhaps physical danger through an accident. As wars sweep our planet, perhaps there are many who regularly cry out to God for their safety. Perhaps a mental health issue prevails in a person’s life, dragging them to a place where suicidal thoughts dwell. But wherever, or whatever the issue, God is always there for us. And we know that ultimately He will rescue us to a place of safety, when He calls us home. There will be no more crying or dying there. With God we will live forever in a place called Paradise.
Dear Loving Heavenly Father. You have rescued us through Your Son Jesus, from the consequences of sin. Thank You. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 