Delivered!
Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered. Psalm 108:6 (NIV)
Words are interesting. While English may not be as expressive as other languages, including Greek, studying and understanding how we use language is still important. Today, we want to look at what it means to be delivered. A pregnant woman will deliver a baby. A postal worker delivers mail. An athlete who comes through in the clutch delivers results. God delivers us from evil and other assorted predicaments.
Even though words may be considered synonyms, it does not mean that they are identical in meaning. Rescued is a synonym for delivered, but still, there are differences, even if somewhat nuanced. Several weeks ago, we explored rescued. We noted at that time that some biblical translations favor the word rescued over delivered. At the same time, some versions use them interchangeably.
One difference between rescued and delivered is in the extent of the action. In my way of thinking, rescue implies the extraction from immediate danger, but deliverance brings us all the way to the ultimate destination.
To illustrate, we belong to the Automobile Club and have roadside assistance. If we encounter an emergency, such as our car breaking down, the tow truck operator will bring us to safety as long as it is no further than 7 miles. To be delivered would mean that we receive transportation to our intended destination.
God not only rescues us, but he also sees us through all the way to the end. There are no halfway measures with God. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18 (NLT)
Brought Out and Brought In
He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. Psalm 18:19 (NKJV)
God raised up Moses to deliver his people out of Egypt and bring them into the Promised Land. God knew the plan, and Moses knew the program (Amos 3:7), but the people lacked the vision to see what God was doing for them. It wasn’t long before they started grumbling and complaining:
“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” Exodus 16:3 (NLT)
How many people perish in a spiritual wilderness because they fail to understand that the wilderness is a part of God’s plan and process? Great leaders prepare the people to make the journey successfully. They strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions.” Acts 14:22 (NET)
God delivered us from the sin that separates us from him, and he will bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18). Deliverance requires that we trust God. The song Each Step I Take reminds us:
Each step I take, I know that He will guide me;
To higher ground, He ever leads me on.
Until some day, the last step will be taken.
Each step I take just leads me closer home.
We Need a Deliverer
Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth: “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘Look, your deliverer comes! Look, his reward is with him, and his reward goes before him!’ ” Isaiah 62:11 (NET)
Deliverance depends upon a Deliverer. How often, though, are deliverers rejected? This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. Acts 7:35 (NIV)
We may have an aversion to being led through the wilderness. Yet the path of deliverance will encounter desolate places sooner or later. Moses reminded the people that God was with them every step of the way:
For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing. Deuteronomy 2:7 (NLT)
We once sang: “My Lord Knows the Way Through The Wilderness; All I Have To Do Is Follow.” Without God to guide and watch over us, we would undoubtedly be lost. Our prayer should be, Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning. Deliver us when distress comes. Isaiah 33:2 (NET)
Perseverance
Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36 (NLT)
A Chinese proverb declares, “The journey is the reward.” While we may debate the merits of that statement, there is no doubt that God uses the journey to develop his character within us. A rescue may take place in an instant, but Godly deliverance spans a lifetime. A wise person once stated that God is more interested in our character than our comfort.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. Romans 5:3–4 (NLT)
Fanny Crosby penned the words: “All the way my Savior leads me–What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide?” Christ has delivered us from sin, and he will be with us each step of the way until we are delivered safely into his kingdom.
Steve Ekeroth