Escape by Grace

We live in a world where we experience toxic or poisonous fumes, chemicals and plants.  In recent times referring to people, a workplace or a relationship as "toxic" has become widespread.  Our mental and spiritual well-being are easily thrown off kilter by our own toxic pride and love of self only Jesus Christ can deliver us from by His grace.

If the air is polluted with toxins, the risk and danger to our health does not eliminate our need to breathe.  So how can we navigate the toxic behaviour and attitudes that can spring up all around us--even within us?  A situation Paul experienced on the island of Malta provides a good example.  Paul, fellow prisoners, Roman soldiers and sailors were shipwrecked and came ashore the island of Malta.  As Paul and others gathered sticks for a fire Acts 28:3-6 tells us:  "But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. ⁴ So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live." ⁵ But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god."

We know Paul by faith in Jesus Christ was a righteous man in the eyes of God Who is the Judge of all the earth.  He had wrongly been imprisoned and found himself shipwrecked on an island.  It is one thing for toxins to be around us in the air or water, but Paul had venomous toxins injected into his bloodstream.  The natives who were familiar with the bite of that particular viper expected him to swell up or suddenly keel over dead.  After Paul shook off the viper into the fire, the islanders were shocked Paul suffered no harm whatsoever.  By the miraculous power of God, Paul was spared the deadly effects of the toxin and continued living, helping, healing and blessing those around him.  As God protected Paul from a toxin in his body, so God is faithful to protect us from toxic behaviour around us.

It may seem God is far from us when we are immersed in a situation where hateful and unkind speech is the norm, where complaining and scorn is constant.  We might feel like we have no choice but to be paralysed by it--or at least it seeping into us and corrupt us from within.  God has a solution for this seemingly inescapable, hopeless problem in Psalm 34:17-19:  "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸ The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all."  When toxic behaviour either within or outside of us works to destroy us, we can cry out to God in broken contrition.  God is more near to us in that moment than venom in our bloodstream or curses in our hearts, and He is able to deliver us from our many afflictions.

We can complain about problems we can do nothing by ourselves to fix, or we can seek God Who hears our cries and has promised to deliver us.  The question is not if God can help or save us, but will we seek God in humility, believing He will be gracious to deliver us?