A song by Jonathan Smith, Zach Williams, Andrew Ripp, Ethan Hulse. ©2019
In the lowest of lows, in the depths of pain and suffering, have you ever been left empty-handed?
Stuck in the shadows of your past, have you ever held out your hand in hope of being rescued?
Were you?
Did someone come along and help you? Or did they betray you, leaving you worse than you were before…
People are hurting. They’re suffering. They have absolutely nothing. They are drained of hope. Emptied out. They have nowhere to go, no one to turn to. They’ve hit rock bottom.
Zach Williams sings about the spiritually destitute in his song ‘Rescue Story’. It is my story, and maybe it’s your story, too, as many believers come to the realization of just how empty-handed, indigent, alone, and suffering they were before Jesus rescued them. They understand that it was He who heard their voice in the desert when they called out in the dead of night—howling their suffering to a dark and empty sky.
As believers, now mature in their faith, they see that all along Jesus was fighting their battles for them, carrying them out of death and into life. Lifting them up from the ashes of hopelessness, and into glory.
Jesus was writing your pages long before you had a name—He knew you. He has a separate name for you, a special, holy name that is yours alone. Long before you were born, before you required His grace and mercy, Jesus was singing songs of His redemption over you.
WOW!!!
And if you were like me, looking back on all the evil you did prior to His rescue—trying to run away from your shame, He came into that shame and shouted His joy of forgiveness, redemption, and justification louder and louder than any iniquity.
He alone is the miracle of the covering blood of salvation. He lifts His beloved out of the ashes, from death into life in Him.
What an amazingly loving rescue!
He did it all—paid it all—for our freedom from sin and shame 👈🏼 it doesn’t cover me anymore. It doesn’t cover you, either.
OH! Glory Hallelujah. Thank You Jesus. He is the Great Amen.
Rescue Story
There I was empty-handed
Crying out from the pit of my despair
There You were in the shadows
Holding out Your hand, You met me there
And now where would I be without You?
Where would I be, Jesus?
You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
You are my rescue story
You are, You are
You are my rescue story
You are, You are
You were writing the pages
Before I had a name
Before I needed grace, oh
Singing songs of redemption
‘Cause every time I ran away
You were louder than my shame
And now, where would I be without You?
Where would I be, Jesus?
You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
You are my rescue story
You never gave up on me
You never gave up on me
You are my testimony, oh, oh-oh
You never gave up on me
You never gave up on me
You are my testimony, oh, oh-oh
You never gave up on me
Oh, You never gave up on me
Oh, this is my testimony
Oh, You were the voice in the desert
Calling me out in the dead of night
Fighting my battles for me
You are my rescue story
Lifted me up from the ashes
Carried my soul from death to life
Bringing me from glory to glory
‘Cause You are my rescue story
You are, You are (You are my rescue story)
Oh, You never gave up on me, never gave up on me
You are, You are
Yeah, You are my rescue story