Deliverance

All-knowing.

Almighty. Powerful.

Are these just words that we flippantly toss about? Or are they core beliefs?

Here's the test -- do we truly believe what David says in this psalm? 

Do we truly believe that no matter how difficult our trials are, our Father is able to deliver us from them? Do we know in our hearts that He is able? That He can do this for His glory and our good?

Do we truly believe in the mercy and grace that we sing about? That we read about?

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress. (Psalm 107:6, NIV)

“Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. (Psalm 91:14, NASB)

See? He even promises that He will deliver us. Oh, but wait. I think I remember that John the Baptist was "delivered" by being beheaded. . . . wasn't Stephen delivered by being stoned to death? And even Paul, the apostle whose letters we read and re-read, died at the hands of the Romans after a long stint in their prison system. . . . 

I guess we need to be careful to define "deliverance" in Biblical terms, not in the superficial terms that we humans usually think on. While some have been truly (and miraculously) delivered, others have been killed, or died in what were perceived as accidents, or even died as they were persecuted and murdered. 

The children of Israel were delivered from their troubles many times. Their leaders, David included, were rescued from distress time and again. In Hebrews, we read that Timothy was imprisoned and then released, while Paul remained there for many years.  Others were delivered in ways that seem incomprehensible to us on a human level: Samson died pulling down a banquet hall on his own head and the heads of God's enemies; Zechariah was killed between the temple and the altar; James (one of the sons of Zebedee) was killed by King Agrippa . . . . there are many examples.

It's not always the will of God to miraculously heal us or get us out of all of our troubles. And that bothers us sometimes, doesn't it? We just don't understand God's ways. In 1956, the world was shocked by the seemingly senseless murder of five Christian missionaries in the wilds of Ecuador. All across the globe, the names of Jim Elliott and the others became household words. Elliott's wife, Elisabeth, and her three year old daughter actually moved to the village of the tribesmen who had murdered her husband, and continued the work of telling the Waodani the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the coming years, the word would spread about the murderous villagers who accepted Christ as Savior; the Mission Aviation Fellowship would expand and serve even more countries across the globe; Elisabeth Elliott would be become renowned for her inspirational books . . . . yes, it's true. God's ways are sometimes surprising, even shocking to us. And deliverance can assume many different forms.

In Paul's last days, Christianity had morphed from a small, struggling movement into a religion with multitudes of followers. But it was no longer a religion that existed under the shelter of Judaism. It had become a crime to be a Christian. It was dangerous to be seen with Paul, a well-known Christian, and it was equally dangerous to be known as "one of those Christians." 

Does this sound familiar? We are rapidly heading in the same direction in our world today . . .

Paul, however, is not afraid. He knows that he will die. He knows he has escaped the mouth of the lion before, but that he will soon die. And he says that the Lord Jesus is with him.

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (II Timothy 4:17-18, NIV)

These are the words of a man who is fully aware of the multiple layers of meaning in the word "deliverance." And Paul's fervent desire was that his life and his death would bring glory to God! Paul felt bound by duty and by love to affirm again and again -- in his letters he repeated that the Lord is always good, loving, and compassionate. Paul said no matter his circumstances, no matter his future, God was going to deliver him from his trials. 
And we can trust in the same. God is fully able to deliver us, even when we are the cause of our trials, either by sin or by foolish mistake. If we will humble ourselves and seek Him, He will instruct us so that we know His wisdom to guide us out of out trials. The difficult circumstances we find ourselves in should drive us to examine our hearts, as we studied last week. We must confess and then forsake our sins, and lastly, cry out to the Lord for His grace and deliverance -- our fervent desire should be for His glory, knowing that it's our ultimate good that He works toward.

Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
    for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
    and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)

Let's focus on loving Him, hating evil, and waiting on His timing for deliverance. Let's ask that the Lord will be glorified as He leads us.