Deliverance!

Scripture for the day: Psalm 34:17-19 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Thought for the day: I walked into the house yesterday and there was a movie playing on the TV (no, it wasn’t “Devliverance”). Many of you would be familiar with at least the title: Journey to the Center of the Earth, based on the novel by Jules Verne. This was the old version; the one that stars James Mason, Pat Boone and Arlene Dahl. I've seen it more times than I care to remember, but there it was playing one more time. Isn't it interesting the way the Lord uses films, books, circumstances and situations that are sometimes painfully common and ordinary, routine even, to remind us of some truth he wants us to embrace?

In the particular scene playing, the four intrepid explorers, plus Gertrude the duck, have pushed many miles beneath the surface of the earth, surviving any number of dangers. They've just discovered a beautiful oasis of gem-stones tucked securely in a great open pocket of the earth. In the middle of this open area is a great pool of fresh water, cool and refreshing. They decide to take a break so they can rest their weary bones and bathe in the oasis. When they're about ready to move on, Alec (Pat Boone) wanders off down a side cave looking for a knapsack he'd dropped. He gets turned around and is almost instantly lost. As the others wait for him to return, the professor (James Mason) decides he must have a sample of the beautiful crystals growing out of the wall by the pool. He chips a particularly brilliant sample from the wall and turns to admire it in the light of his lamp.

Suddenly water begins to seep through the tiny cracks made by his hammer. As the trio turns to leave, wondering where Alec has wander off to, the pressure from the water creates a gigantic hole in the wall and the entire place begins to fill, cutting off any hope of escape. The explorers rush into a nearby room only to find it a dead end; they are trapped with absolutely no hope of escape. The only one who doesn't seem to be in a panic is Gertrude who simply begins to swim about in the rapidly rising water. As the water continues to rise the trio begins to climb the walls of what promises to become their watery tomb. On and on they climb, all the while looking toward the roof, hoping against hope to spot an escape route. As they get to the top, the only things left to hold onto are the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Arlene Dahl slips back into the water and grasps desperately for the professor's outstretched hand. As they cling to a stalactite the swirling water and their added weight begin to loosen it from the ceiling. Finally it breaks loose with a resounding snap and sinks to the bottom, leaving our intrepid heroes floundering about in the rapidly rising water once more.

But wouldn't you know it? They look up to discover a hole through the ceiling where the stalactite once hung! Hans, their Icelandic friend and Gertrude the duck climb through the gaping hole and Hans aids the professor and Arlene in making it safely to dry ground once again (whatever happened to Alec is much too long a tale to tell; if you want to know you'll have to rent or buy the movie for yourself).

Now here's the point: they knew the water was going to rise and fill the cavern. They knew the ceiling was a solid mass of stone. They knew there was no hope of escape. Why, at some point during the whole ordeal, didn't they simply give up and drown as their circumstances told them was inevitable? What made them hold on and climb until they got to the very top of the cave? What within them impelled them to exhaust every last ounce of hope in what must have seemed a vain attempt at survival?

Is there not something implanted within us that makes us hold on to the last hope? Has not the Lord given us a living hope that says, "If I just hold on a bit longer, rescue will come? I think He has, and the reason we can be so hopeful, at least those of us who have exercised saving faith in Him, is that we serve a God who has promised to deliver us. He's almost never early; I think that's because if he were we'd forget that he ever came to our aid in the first place. He's never late; deliverance that comes late isn't deliverance after all. He's always on time; He always delivers in His way, in His time, and in such a way that He is glorified through the experience. Let's try to remember that as we face the never-ending challenges that often seem to be ours.

Now go take on your world. - Bill