He Reached Down

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemies,

from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,

but the LORD supported me.

He led me to a place of safety;

he rescued me because he delights in me. Psalm 18:16-19

WHEN OUR CHILDREN ARE SMALL, we keep their tiny hands away from hot stoves, train them to look both ways before they cross the street, and warn them about talking to strangers. We’ve been their protector, their rescuer. But as our children grow, the threats are multiplied as well as diversified. And we simply don’t have the power to keep them safe from every potential threat or unexpected attack. Our children need a better rescuer, a stronger savior. And that is exactly what they have.

Psalm 18 begins with an inscription that says David “sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.” In the psalm, David is celebrating the God who has had his back over a lifetime of difficulties. After God plucked him out of the fields and placed him on the royal throne, David endured the insurrections of his own subjects and the attacks of foreign enemies, as well as an overthrow attempt by his own son. David knew that he had not emerged from the abyss of his troubles by his own skill. He recognized that he had repeatedly been drawn out of deep waters and distress by the hand of God.

When our kids get in a tough spot, we tend to kick into high gear to accomplish a rescue or at least strategize a solution. But what our kids need most is to experience what David experienced —divine rescue, divine support. They need to be the object of divine delight as the Lord rescues them.

Lord, I mistakenly put my confidence in coming up with a human solution or in manipulating a situation. But I know that’s not what ________ needs most. What we all need is to experience the kind of rescue that has to come from you. Lord, help me to know when to hold back my help and keep my suggestions to myself, so that ________ can experience your support and safety.