Today’s devotion builds on yesterday.

Luke 15:4 (NASB95): “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?”

Psalm 139:8 (NASB95): “If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.”

1 Peter 3:18-19 (NASB95): “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.”

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Day 5: The Rescue Mission (Salvation Saturday)

In 2022, a severe bout of encephalitis brought a terrifying reality to me: driving completely lost, with a mind profoundly altered by physical illness, I ran out of gas in the middle of the night in Garfield, Georgia. When disorientation sets in to that degree, the ability to navigate, rationalize, or self-correct vanishes entirely. You cannot save yourself when you are not in your right mind. My sister-in-law refused to let the confusion win. She set out in a determined search, intentionally stepping into the chaos to track down someone who could not find their own way home. I have found that when we find ourselves lost, we find ourselves again on a road paved with the friends who never stopped searching to bring us home.

In relational psychology and crisis intervention, a true rescue requires meeting the victim exactly where they are, no matter how isolated, broken, or detached from reality they have become.

The sermon beautifully captures this relentless pursuit in the concept of “Salvation Saturday.” When Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb, it was not a day of passive waiting. Jesus went to the gates of hell to destroy evil and become the very way out of the darkness for all humanity. He descended into the darkest, most isolated places in search of his lost sheep. Secure Love does not wait for a victim to find their own way out.

God does not stand safely on the edge of our spiritual or mental wilderness, demanding that we get back into our “right minds” before He comes for us. He descends into our profound disorientation. He steps into the places where we are entirely incapable of saving ourselves. Henry Nouwen noted that if God loved us so much that he wanted to experience with us the total absurdity of death, then there must be hope.

Whether we are lost in the physical woods, trapped in the mental fog of a terrifying illness, or sinking in the deep spiritual darkness of our own mistakes, Jesus is the ultimate search party. Jesus will stop at nothing to win you over to himself. He is the rescuer who will never abandon the search.

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Reflection Questions

1. Think about a time when you were completely disoriented—spiritually, emotionally, or physically—and someone fought to pull you back to safety. How did that pursuit make you feel valued?
2. How does it change your view of God to know He actively pursues you into the darkest, most confused states of your life, rather than waiting for you to “fix” yourself first?

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Father, the original Wilderness Rescuer,

Thank You for being the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to relentlessly pursue the one, descending into the darkest, most terrifying places to search for us. When we find ourselves completely lost, profoundly disoriented, and not in our right mind—trapped in the fog of physical illness, emotional trauma, or spiritual darkness—thank You that You do not wait for us to find our own way out. You do not demand that we get back into our right minds before You come for us.

Thank You for intentionally stepping into our chaos. Even if we make our bed in the darkest depths, You are there. We praise You for the ultimate rescue mission of Jesus, who descended into our deepest isolation and stopped at nothing to become our way out of the dark.

We also thank You for the fiercely devoted friends and family who pave the road back home, powerfully reflecting Your unyielding love. I am so grateful for the people You have placed in my life who reflect Your relentless love–those who pursue me into the wilderness and refuse to let me go. When we are entirely incapable of saving ourselves, give us the peace of knowing that You are the Rescuer who will never abandon the search. When we feel entirely unable to save ourselves, remind us that You have already stormed the gates of our darkness to bring us safely home.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.