FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

I hid under the cheap bedspread that smelled of stale smoke, fearing punishment more than the older boys we had invited into our motel room on that church-sponsored college tour.

Our roommates had locked themselves into the tiny bathroom, a screaming blur of curlers, quilted robes and fuzzy slippers - an alert much more effective than any 911 call.

Within seconds, a booming shout, sharp knock, creaking hinge, tussle, and then, an eery silence filled the air.

When I dared to peek, I could see the surprised young men pinned up against the wall by the youth pastor, who had been charged with our protection.

Sheer cowardice caused me to pull the cover back over my head, pretending sleep, while my best friend stood and took the rap for another youth group adventure gone bad.

Though my eyes remained closed, my heart finally opened to recognize an important truth:

Even when His children have made a complete mess of things by flirting with danger, our Heavenly Father still comes after us. 

He will never leave us to manage on our own. 

And although those rescues may be messy, confusing and downright humiliating; make no doubt about it, a rescue is an act of love.

When we finally throw off the inadequate cover of our own denial, we can clearly face the truth of the matter. 

We all need God. Desperately.

As the memory of that warm Missouri night swirls through my mind, I am reminded of an even greater deliverance that took place on a muddy, blood-stained heap of earth, overshadowed by the cross of Christ. 

Our Redeemer came for us, even as we hid under the illusion that we had everything under control.

And when the cry, “It is finished!” pierced the darkness, He took sin and death by the throat, threw them up against the wall, and forever secured our safety, all because of His fierce love for us.

Jesus Christ, the Hero of all mankind, will never let us go.

“He has rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 ceb