Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people! He made a dry path through the Red Sea, and His people went across on foot. There we rejoiced in Him.

Psalm 66:5-6

While the title may fit, today’s devotion is not a commentary on the state of my shoe collection (though my husband may disagree). Today I’m talking about the proverbial “other shoe”, the one that drops at precisely the moment you can least handle it.

You know what I’m talking about: One shoe has already dropped into your life that you hadn’t planned on and then you get this unsettled feeling that gnaws at the back of your mind, threatens to rattle your sense of peace, causes you to imagine new problems and then begin solving them before they even exist…

Just me? Nah, I didn’t think so.

We all get hit from time to time with a dropped shoe. They hit our finances, our health, our relationships, our career plans…and when life drops one shoe, we may be tempted to not only worry over getting that shoe back on the shelf, but to imagine that a whole row of shoes is going to come raining down next (which may or may not happen in my actual closet from time to time).

In our distress over one shoe, we tend to forget all of the times that we’ve been rescued from raining shoes before.

Sweet friend, this forgetfulness in the face of trouble is not unique to our generation. In Psalm 66, the psalmist felt the need to remind the people of his generation of God’s rescuing power at the parting of the Red Sea. And dear heart, if there was ever an “other shoe” dropping moment, I imagine the Israelites felt it as they marveled over how Pharoah finally let them go. Some of them were surely waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to go horribly wrong – and suddenly, there they were, pinned between the impassable Red Sea and a raging Pharoah and his sorrow-maddened army.

But God – how I love those words! – God had their rescue planned long before Pharoah changed his mind and chased them down.

In fact, if we dig into the Bible, we see rescue story after rescue story:

• Joseph from Slavery and Temptation
• David from Goliath
• Elijah from Depression
• Daniel from the Lion’s Den
• Three Young Men from the Fiery Furnace
• Balaam from Death
• Joseph, Mary, and Jesus from King Herod
• Peter from Drowning
• The Thief from Eternal Death
• Paul from Prison, Shipwreck, Stoning

And those are just the ones that come readily to mind.

As I think on these rescue stories, I am reminded that God has not changed. The same God who sealed shut the mouths of lions removed the cancer from my dad’s body and has kept him cancer free for 20+ years. The same God who rescued the holy family from King Herod safely delivered three healthy, beautiful babies to our family and my husband and I are blessed to know that they are not only our sons and daughter, but also our Brothers and Sister in Christ. The same God who armed David against Goliath has won battle after battle on the fields of finance and health and relationships and so much more.

Beloved, the same God who gave eternal salvation to the thief on the cross sees my sins and your sins – even the ones we haven’t made yet, He hears our cries, and He saves our souls from the wages of sin as well.

Oh friend, our God is a God of rescue.

Though we may not always recognize the work of His hand, He is always working all things to good for those who love Him. We may not understand why certain shoes drop into our lives, but I guarantee we also have no idea how many shoes God has caught before the enemy even launched them and said, “Not today, Satan. Not today.” Our God – how sweet the sound of His name – God knows every issue that has come or will come into our lives and He is working His way through the greatest rescue story ever.

Brothers and Sisters, may we be a people who wait patiently upon the Lord. May we look for the works of His hands more than we look for the next proverbial shoe. May we always remember that His promise still stands and His faithfulness is great! May we remember what He has done for us and for others before. May we have peace knowing that He will do it again.