GOD, OUR GREAT DELIVERER

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies. “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held Myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant. I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.”

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

“But those who trust in idols, who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.”

Isaiah 42:13-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Just within this year, I have been ministering to and/or praying over people who are going through the following:

One is dealing with the onset of depression, a person who was typically very positive and upbeat now dealing with overriding and overbearing feelings of despair and sadness.

Another person is struggling with a diagnosis of cancer and the prospect of a long series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Once confident and sure in life, they now wrestle with the uncertainties ahead and whether or not their life might be ending.

Yet another person has fallen into the grip of addiction to the point where alcohol has taken over their life and become more of a priority than their work or family. The substance reliance is destroying them from the inside out.

There is a couple struggling with their finances, so far in debt that their credit is deeply damaged and their relationship is feeling the strain of their money troubles.

Then there is a woman who is in the midst of a divorce after many years of marriage, deceived by a man she trusted for so many years after learning of his affair with another woman. Broken and betrayed, she wonders whether she will ever be able to love and trust again.

I could go on and on and on but the point has been made. As we look at the difficult situations and their related circumstances that people are going through, we get a solemn reminder of just how tough life can get for us at times with trials and troubles emerging in many different forms and severities, sometimes suddenly.

It would almost leave us in a place of misery, fear, and hopelessness if it weren’t for one simple truth.

We have a God that is our great Deliverer.

Indeed, one need not delve too deeply into the Bible to see over and over again how God has been a rescuer and redeemer unto His people. As we have seen through our Old Testament journey and the associated devotions, God has brought the people of Israel out of trouble over and over and over again and when we fully see that God is the same great Deliverer for us today, then we will say words similar to our brothers and sisters of the Lord more than 2,000 years ago when they professed the following:

He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge. Psalm 144:2

You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God. Psalm 40:17b

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2

For You, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 116:8-9

I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

I am under vows to You, my God; I will present my thank offerings to You. For You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:12-13

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 

And from our scripture today:

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

The scriptures proclaim this truth, over and over again. The Lord God Almighty is our great Deliverer and no one else can protect us and bring us through the difficulties of life like He can.

He can bring joy back to those who find themselves depressed.

With a single touch, He can drive away diseases and afflictions.

No addiction is more powerful than the strength the Lord can bring to someone who wants to break free of it.

He can provide the way and direction through our money issues and help us dig out of the holes we have put ourselves in.

And He brings us love and comfort and peace when our hearts are broken, wrapping His arms around us and leading us to a place where we can forgive and reconcile after being forsaken.

Yes, there is nothing that we go through that God cannot deliver us from. Nothing, including death.

That’s right. The God we serve, the One who created us and nurtures us, His children, as our Heavenly Father, doesn’t just deliver us from the things we come up against when we are living but He also made a way so that we would also find triumph over the grave.

In other words, He delivers us when we no longer have life here on earth and He does so through His Son Jesus, who He sent to save all mankind.

You see, through Christ Jesus, God, our Great Deliverer, gave us a way to be delivered even from death so that we might never stop living. Death is no longer in the future for a Christian; instead, they enter into a new eternal life through Jesus when this worldly life is over, one free from all the things mentioned before, things that plague us in our present existence. The Apostle Paul perhaps framed the joy that comes in this truth best when he wrote:

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24-25a

Friends, I don’t know what your needs are today but I do know this and I hope you do now as well after reading this devotion.

We serve a God who is our great Deliverer and there is absolutely nothing beyond the work of His hands.

Will you join me in praising Him for that right now?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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