Pictured: Guard House for lifeguards on Miami Beach.
Once in Maine, my father and I were standing on a pier talking to someone. My six-year-old brother Dennis was swimming in the lake. He was trying to get into an inner tube. But when he swam up to it, another boy was in it. Dennis seemed to be struggling. There were canoes and other things in the water. Suddenly, Daddy–former river lifeguard with hundreds of rescues to his credit–threw off his sunglasses and dove into the lake. Instantly he surfaced right where Dennis was, holding him up. It all happened so fast. I was not even sure Dennis was in trouble before he had already been rescued.
God rescues us the same way.
Read Psalm 18 (2 Samuel 22 records the same psalm). David knows God rescued him from all his numerous enemies, and he draws an amazing picture that sounds a lot like drowning, tangled in seaweed. David is struggling, drowning, desperate. He cries out to God and God hears him.
Suddenly, God moves. The earth quakes! The clouds part. The mountains shake. God is angry. Smoke blows out of His nostrils. Fire comes from His mouth. God mounts an angel and flies. Clouds, storms, fire, and earthquakes follow Him. Lightning flashes before Him. His voice thunders. He shoots arrows, hurls lightning bolts. He reaches down and grabs David, pulls Him free and saves Him.
Read Psalm 18:3-17 and thank God for being our rescuer!
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