The Rescue Book

I was given the privilege of being on the launch team of “The Rescue,” written by Jim Cymbala with Ann Spangler. The book is a compilation of the firsthand amazing stories of seven people who have experienced what happens when a man or a woman responds to the love of Christ Jesus. He literally transforms lives that others would have said were beyond hope. And, not only that, He has taken their lives into a “more than” into His kingdom’s purposes. Their remarkable stories reveal the power of the One to whom all power AND mercy belongs.

One sentence that stood out to me was voiced by Toni, hers is the last story in the book. She said, “Fear always comes from somewhere.” One source of her fear was the broken, chaotic home, that wasn’t really “home” but a place of neglect and abuse. Fears in her life are understandable, quite obvious.

But what about us? What about those of us who came from homes that were safe, that were loving? Where does our fear come from?

The truth is, fear is a part of everyone’s life. We’re born with it. It is fear that is given to us by the Lord as a protective device. It’s meant to draw us to Him, to fear Him above all else so that we can have courageous faith in this troubled world. And so that we learn from Him what life and love are meant to be.

However, because we live in a fallen world, held in the grip of an evil prince, our fears usually feed his lies and his hold over our lives. He grows our fears to keep us seeking control and management over our circumstances. Hebrews 2:15 reminds us that his kind of fear keeps us in slavery.

The good news is, as Toni wrote of her mom, Jesus has the power to give you “backbone.” That’s what Psalm 27:1 (JUB) says:

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 

Your life may not be chaotic. You may not have the experience of abuse, alcohol or drugs in your life. But one thing you can surely admit to is that fear is a word you know by experience. I pray you will take your fears and lay them at the feet of the only One worthy to fear. And that is the One whose love pulls you out of fear into a transformed life. May you choose Him to be your Strength of Life, your Forza di Vita.

I thoroughly recommend “The Rescue.” These stories are truths that will encourage you to know that in every circumstance of life, there is hope. We may live in a world ruled by an evil prince, but we live in a universe ruled by The King to whom power and mercy belong. He is faithful and trustworthy.

Find more information here at “The Rescue Book”— https://info.zondervan.com/home/teams/nonfiction/the-rescue-book/