READ: PSALM 91; 1 PETER 2:9-10, 24-25

Sunlight cascaded through green leaves as I descended the stairs at one of my favorite parks off the shores of Lake Michigan. Suddenly, a furry flash of orange and white darted underneath the steps in front of me. Getting on my hands and knees, I peered into the darkness of the stairs to find a pair of large, green eyes staring back at me. From the looks of it, this cat had been living under these stairs for a long time. Fur was everywhere, and there seemed to be a permanent indentation in the dirt where he slept. My heart broke for this cat who looked like a miniature lion, his eyes full of fear.

Over the month to come, I made phone calls to people who might be able to help, attempted to cultivate a relationship with the cat, and brought him food and water. Because of the park’s rules, I couldn’t bring in a live trap, and no one I talked to was compelled to help. One day, after pouring my heart and frustrations out to a close friend, she offered to help me try to rescue him. As we hiked out to him, loaded up with tuna, a blanket, and a cage, we prayed that God would help us and that this sweet cat would come out of the darkness of his lonely home and into the light. Reaching our destination, we were delighted to find him sitting on the stairs waiting for us! This was the first time I had seen him out of his hiding place since the day I found him. Instead of hiding or claws, the cat I originally thought was feral allowed us to put him in the cage with very little struggle.

When I brought him to the local no-kill shelter the following day, the staff at the shelter kindly kept the name I had been calling him. In the following weeks, Marmalade was vaccinated, fixed, and estimated to be around seven years old. No one had claimed him even though we had posted his picture on various sites, but I continued to pray for a loving home for him where he would thrive. • Savannah Coleman

• Have you ever been part of a rescue, either for a person or an animal? Perhaps you were the one who was rescued out of a traumatic situation. Psalm 91 is about God being our shelter and fortress (verse 1-2). It paints a beautiful picture of God covering us with His feathers—we find the refuge we seek beneath His wings (verse 3-4). When we call on Jesus, He will answer us. Deliverance may not always come in the way we expect, but He is always with us and for us (verse 14-16). Just as Marmalade came out of the darkness into the light, God calls us out of darkness into His wonderful light. We are chosen, called, and fully loved by our merciful God (1 Peter 2:9-10).

[God] called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9b (NLT)