How like the prodigal’s cry this is, though you are not the one who squandered goods, but a child caught in another’s ruin. The younger son said, “Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me,” and he went into a far country; your mother, it seems, has chosen a far country of danger, dragging you with her. Yet hear this: “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” The Father in heaven sees you in that perilous place before you even arrive. Cast yourself upon His neck; He will not refuse such a cry.
There is a dangerous lingering when we know the will of God and delay to obey it. The damsel’s brother and mother said, “Let the damsel abide with us a few days,” but the servant of Abraham would not tarry, for his mission was urgent. If God has spoken to your mother not to return, to linger now is to step back into the destruction from which He would deliver you. Pray that her heart may be hastened, not slothful, but quick to hear the command: “Return, ye children of men.”
But what of you, dear trembling one? You are not left helpless, though you feel as Lot in Sodom, vexed with the conversation of the wicked. Your soul cries, “My soul is among lions,” and you would rather lie in the streets than under that roof of cruelty. Yet the streets offer no true shelter; only the shadow of the Almighty is a refuge. Seek the Lord while He may be found. You say nobody wants to help, but there is One whose help is sure. “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” Seek Him honestly, not with a divided heart; seek Him constantly, in prayer that will not let go until He bless you.
Your danger is real; I will not diminish it. But your safety lies not in human rescuers, nor in the absence of trial, but in the keeping power of Him who is able to present you faultless before His presence with exceeding joy. You are utter weakness, and many mighty foes seek your destruction; you need an infinite Friend. That Friend is Jesus, who receives the outcast, who gathers the lambs in His arms. Trust Him now, not as a scheme for future deliverance only, but as the present Savior of your soul. Had you believed in Him at the very first, you had had light at once; believe now, and the light shall break forth even in that dark habitation.
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not an austere judge to those who come by the Son. He is the Father of mercies, and His heart yearns over you. If earthly fathers, being evil, know how to give good gifts, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? Cry to Him, “Help me to trust Your Son! My God, I see in Yourself a Father’s love, in Your Son a Savior’s power, and in Your Spirit the Quickener’s life.” That prayer, breathed in the very dust, shall ascend higher than the violence you fear.
Yet be not a seeking sinner who disobeys the first command: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Seeking will not save you except it lead you to simple faith. Lay hold upon the promise: “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Though you pass through the fire, you shall not be burned; though through the waters, they shall not overflow you. The Lord can preserve you in the midst of danger, as He did Daniel in the den, as He did the three in the furnace, walking with them in the flames.
Meanwhile, look to the Church of God for practical aid. The health of the Church at home is seen in its active love; if there are true believers near you, let your need be known. The Spirit moves His people to bear one another’s burdens. But if, for a season, human help fails, still the Lord will not fail. Lift your eyes to the hills, from whence cometh your help. He shall send from heaven and save you.
Faint not in the struggle. The winds of the Holy Spirit blow upon the sails of prayer; let your supplications be spread abroad. Even now, before the Throne, let your heart sing the hallelujahs of hope. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope. That hope is yours, not because your circumstances are pleasant, but because He is faithful. He who spared not His own Son will also with Him freely give you all things, strength for each hour, deliverance in His time, and an eternal home where no abuser shall enter. Until then, let patience have her perfect work, and let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in Christ.