Deliverance is the act of being rescued and set free. We all have times when we feel we need to be delivered. It may be a situation with a family member, a problem at work, or some random situation you find yourself involved in. As a Christian, I know my ultimate deliverance will come from God when I exit this world to my final home with Him.
Have you ever felt like you needed to be rescued from a situation? How did you handle those feelings and your situation? Like most, you probably tried several things to change the situation you were in. You may have tried to ignore it, but it didn’t go away. You may have tried to confront it, but that didn’t help either. Finally, you gave up all hope of helping yourself and realized you could not do anything to change things in your own strength. That’s when God steps in, and deliverance comes.
The Israelites knew all about deliverance. They had been in bondage for over 400 years when God delivered them. Look at the passage in Exodus 3. God sends deliverance when they cry unto Him. When we come to the end of our own strength, and there seems to be no hope, that’s usually when we turn to God. I wonder how much sooner God would give us answers and deliver us if we were truly trusting in Him and not our ways.
Exodus 3:9-10 “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
When we seek to figure out ways to deliver ourselves. we are not allowing God to control us. He wants us to be humble and then He will get the glory for our deliverance. He wants us to give Him everything.
I Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Hagar knew the deliverance of God also. She had borne Abraham a son as the handmaid of Sarah. Because of Sarah’s jealousy, she was sent to the wilderness. To read the full account, read Genesis chapters 16-21. Hagar had been through every emotion possible by the time we reach Genesis 21:19. She had been up and down through the whole process, but now she finds herself with no hope of survival for her or her child. This is when God steps in.
Genesis 21:14-19 “And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.”
When did you experience God’s deliverance? Was it when you came to the end of yourself? Maybe someone else pleaded your cause, and God answered their prayer. If so, realize it was God, and nothing else, that delivered you. When we take our hands off the wheel of our lives it is then God can truly work through us and for us. It is then that He gets the glory He is due. We need to learn early that God is in control and wants what is best for us. He knows our yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Why not rest our cares in the hands of the one who can do something about them? When we hurt, he will hold us. When we are distressed, He can give us peace and relief. When we are perplexed, not knowing which way to turn, He will guide us. He is perfectly capable of taking care of our every need, and He wants to, but it is up to us to let Him. When I think of deliverance, I can’t help but remember Ephesians 3:20. He is not only able to do what we ask but wants to do more than we ask. He wants to show himself strong in our lives. When we let Him, true deliverance will come.
Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him, that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
