See yourself in God's story -- you're the one He rescues from destruction
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
Those He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
Those He gathered from the lands,
From the east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in desert wastelands,
Finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away . . .
[But] then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them from their distress.
(Excerpts from Psalm 107)
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” Here it is folks, an encouraging directive from God’s Word to tell our stories. It even includes descriptive examples. This Psalm caught my attention several years ago when I was in the throes of a failing marriage and battling a destructive eating/body image disorder. I saw myself in this Psalm, but not where I wanted to be: in prison, suffering in iron chains; wandering through desert wastelands searching for home; living as a foolish, flagrant rebel in denial of my obvious need for help.
But then, I cried out to the Lord for help and salvation. And He answered at an acceptable time, in the abundance of His steadfast love, according to His saving faithfulness (Psalm 69:13). He saved me from my distress. He delivered me from my fears. He sent His Word to heal me. He rescued me from the grave and He led me along a straight path where my heart could settle in Him. Praise the Lord!
Do you see yourself in Psalm 107?
Think about your own story. Think of others you’ve heard. Consider the history of mankind. See how all of us from our birth have been wandering, hungry, thirsty, searching for a place to settle our hearts, minds and bodies. We’ve all from our birth been prisoners of sin and Satan, suffering in iron chains, cloaked in utter darkness and despair, cut off from the Light of Life. We have all from our birth been foolishly, rebelliously despising God’s plans and demanding to have things our way.
And we have all suffered affliction because of our sins. We are all born enemies of God, incapable of doing anything right. We all desperately need salvation, deliverance and redemption. And we are all powerless to save ourselves. This is a tragedy full of shameful, miserable failure. But it’s our true story and, as difficult as it may be, it must be told truthfully.
As I shared before, my own journey has been wrought with failure, heartache and shameful, sinful behavior. I’d prefer to leave those gory details out of my story when I tell it since they don’t paint me in a very good light.
But when I do that, I essentially deny my depravity and desperate need for a Savior, which downplays the outrageous work of God’s grace in my life.
How Is Our Story Really His Story?
But if I tell the truth like the Psalmist did, if I disclose the horror of my sinful depravity and my helplessness to get out of the pit I dove into headfirst, if I confess with conviction that I was dead in my trespasses and sins and opposed to my Maker, then when I declare the good news of a holy, righteous, merciful God pulling me out of that pit and setting my feet upon the Rock of Jesus Christ who died for my sins and made me righteous, oh how glorious and astonishing God’s outrageous grace appears! This is our true story of God’s indescribable grace at work to save and redeem us, and in this way it is HIS story, to be told truthfully for the glory of His beautiful name.
Psalm 107 begins with a command to “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His love endures forever.” That sets forth the theme of the Psalm (and all of Scripture): the Lord is good and His love endures forever. He is the God who perfectly loves and selflessly lays down His life to save sinners.
We tell our stories to declare who HE is and what HE has done. “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those HE redeemed from the hand of the foe.”
Don’t Leave Out The Mess!
So, in telling our stories we shouldn’t leave out the mess before God rescued us. We tell it truthfully. That doesn’t mean you have to tell all of the details to everyone. There will be times when it’s appropriate to share the unabridged version. Other times all that’s necessary is “I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” But we tell what our life was like before and after God came and rescued us. Here’s another way of articulating our redemption from Psalm 107:
But then, we cried to the Lord in our trouble and HE delivered and saved us from our distress! He broke the stranglehold of sin from our hearts. He brought us out of our utter darkness with His Light of Life! He sent His Word, Jesus the Great Physician, and healed the contagion of sin plaguing us! He rescued us from the grave. And He sent His Holy Spirit to lead us by a straight way to an Abiding City where we can settle our restless hearts, minds and bodies in the presence of our Lord forever.
This is my story! This is your story if you’ve been redeemed by the Lord. And our stories are to be told with thanksgiving, as an offering to the Lord, in praise of His marvelous deeds. They are to be sung and shouted from the rooftops for the glory of His beautiful name. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and His love endures forever.
Let the Redeemed of the Lord tell their stories . . .
Psalm 107:1-22 (NIV)
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.2 Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.[a]4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
11 because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
12 So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
16 for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.
Photo courtesy Sojourn Visual Arts “In 3 Years” Homeless Art Project
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