God's Deliverance

From the LORD comes deliverance.  May your blessing be on your people.  Psalm 3:8

When you and I study Scripture, we see many examples of Almighty God’s deliverance.  Are you in a season of life where you may be crying out to God for deliverance?  Scripture reveals to us that sometimes God delivers us from, sometimes God delivers us through, and then sometimes God delivers us later.  Whether God chooses to deliver us from, delivers us through, or delivers us later, we can be assured that He is present with us.  Psalm 139:7-10 – Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.  We can be assured that no matter what we are facing, our God is with us desiring to provide the comfort that only He can give. 

In the Book of Genesis, we read the account of when God destroyed the earth.  God looked at His creation and saw that the earth was corrupt and full of violence.  So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.  I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth” – Genesis 6:13.  God delivered Noah and his family from this destruction.  He instructed Noah to build an ark that would protect his family when the flood waters came upon the earth.  Almighty God is sovereign and for His honor, glory, and purpose, chose to deliver Noah and his family from the flood. 

In Daniel 3, we see God’s deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through the blazing furnace.  All the people in the land were instructed to fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  Whoever refused, were to be thrown into the blazing furnace.  When the time came to bow down and worship the image of gold, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused.  They refused to worship anything or anyone other than Almighty God – the One True God.  The king, in an angry rage, summoned the three men.  The king said to the men, “If you do not worship it (the image), you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.  Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” – Daniel 3:15.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego boldly replied to King Nebuchadnezzar.  “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” – Daniel 3:16-18.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were pressured to deny God, but made the choice to be faithful to Him no matter what happened.  They trusted that Almighty God would deliver them, but if God chose not to deliver them they would still remain faithful to Him.  Will you choose to be faithful to God whether He intervenes on your behalf or not?  Our eternal reward will be worth any suffering we may have to endure upon this earth. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the blazing furnace.  Scripture reveals God saw them through and delivered them through the blazing furnace.  As King Nebuchadnezzar gazed into the furnace, he saw four men walking in the fire unbound and unharmed.  Daniel 3:24-26 – Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”  They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”  He said, “Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”  Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!  Come here!”  So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire.  God sovereignly chose to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through the fire.  There may be times, when in His sovereign grace, God will see us through difficult situations and circumstances.  Know that when He see us through, He is right there with with us, providing His comfort and peace.  Choose to rely on Almighty God. 

Then there are times when God’s deliverance comes later – when we reach our eternal home.  We live in an evil, fallen world.  Believers will encounter difficult circumstances, illness, pain, and lose.  Suffering will occur in our life and in God’s sovereignty, He may choose not to deliver us from or through the pain.  Know deep in the depths of your soul, a better day is coming.  Hold on to the deliverance that can only occur when we are ushered into the presence of Jesus.  Hebrew 11:35-40 reveals saints who received deliverance later – in their eternal home.  There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.  They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.  They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them.  They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.  These were commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

Prayerfully ask God to help your faith stay strong no matter if He chooses to deliver you from, delivers you through, or delivers you later. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness.  LORD we recognize Your sovereignty.  Thank You for Your presence no matter if you deliver us from, deliver us through, or deliver us later.  In Jesus Name I Pray…..Amen.