Steadfast Love – Rescue Me

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Luke 4:1-13

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

We begin Lent with the reminder that God’s love is steadfast—it never fails. God’s love is like a light that guides us home, ignites our bones, and rebuilds us, putting us back together for a relationship with God and one another. Lent is a solemn and reflective season that helps us confront our sinfulness. It represents our journey with Christ, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness. But what do all these feelings of solemnity, remorse, repentance, and introspection have to do with love? It is absolutely everything. 

What if Lent isn’t just an individual exercise? What if our introspection, confession, and examination of our inner selves should be done within our community? What if the core of our Lenten reflection focuses on how we live in the community and how we demonstrate love?

We live in love; that is the secret of our existence. We are surrounded by a love that is almost indescribable. We’re wandering in the wilderness much like Jesus. However, for Jesus, the wilderness isn’t what we typically envision. We think of dense green trees that obscure our view and grass and weeds that tangle at our feet, making it hard to walk. We imagine dark, secluded areas, damp and mossy, swarming with enormous bugs. We picture creeping and slithering creatures, ones with teeth and claws. Our wilderness, populated with the creatures of our imagination and film history, differs from Jesus’ wilderness.

Jesus' wilderness was a desert: rocks and sand, with the sun blazing down, draining strength and life. It was dry, parched, and barren. He was exposed and vulnerable. Thus, Psalm 91 was a blessing. You who dwell in the shelter and abide in the shadow—this is not hiding; it is relief. Relief from the blazing sun. You who find comfort in the shadow, can you feel it? When a cloud covers the sun for a moment, you can stand taller and run a little further. You can open your eyes again and see what surrounds you. This is a relief.

God’s love brings relief. Human love offers relief as well—relief from the dry feeling of isolation and abandonment and relief for hearts parched from a lack of love they can sense or receive. It’s the comfort of residing in the cool shadow of acceptance and security, of standing straighter instead of bending under the weight of emptiness.

My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Trust God for what? There is a thread in this psalm that feels ... dangerous. Angels will bear you up so you won’t dash your foot on a stone? Treading on lions and snakes? No scourge will come near your tent.

These promises are for those who love God! If we do know and love as best we can, then what do we get? A tireless guardian angel, pulling us back from busy curbs, protecting us from airborne diseases, shielding us from flying projectiles hurled by accident or intent? If that is the promise, then why do we hurt? Is it because God isn’t paying attention or because we didn’t love rightly? Does that mean that we didn’t know enough?  We know better. In our heads, anyway. Sometimes, our guts wonder. We feel abandoned at times. At other times, we feel inadequate, like we disappointed God. But we know better. We know that God’s love is constant and unconditional. Psalm 91 says nothing can happen to us to take that love away.

The last two verses explain the promises: “When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.” Verse fifteen says God promises to answer whenever we call. We don’t always hear the answer because we’ve moved out of hearing distance, haven’t learned God’s language well enough, or set up a hoop for God to jump through. But the promise is God will always answer. 

The second promise from this verse is that God will be with us: “I will be with them in trouble.” We’d prefer God keep us from trouble, but since a lot of the trouble we’re in is our own fault and God gives us the freedom to wander away, we should celebrate the good news that even our stubbornness, even our bad choices, even our attempts to take God’s place doesn’t keep God from being with us. 

The promise continues with the affirmation, "I will rescue them and honor them." This implies a form of divine intervention and recognition. However, it does not mean we are exempt from life’s trials. God's way of honoring us involves allowing us to make our own choices and experience the consequences of those choices. Ultimately, we are assured of rescue. As verse sixteen states, "With long life, I will satisfy them and show them my salvation." This suggests an eternal perspective. While we often seek immediate solutions, God sees the bigger picture and invites us to embrace it in the present.

As we journey through these forty days, let us strive to live in accordance with God’s desires and observe how our lives flourish with fulfillment and vitality. Remember how Jesus overcame the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness! May this Lenten season be a time to contemplate God’s steadfast love and the assurance of His promise to rescue us from our sins and trials.