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Articles
Deliverance, but When?
The promise of God’s deliverance is found throughout the Bible. The Lord promises deliverance to those who are faithful, but how His deliverance manifests itself in our lives can at times be difficult to understand. In the midst of our trials, we should not read God’s promises as instantaneous, but rather see them as opportunities to trust in His providential care. The promises of God are true and faithful, but they will not always arrive exactly at the moment that we want or think they should. The psalmist David wrote – “The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (34:17). How should this verse and its promise be read in the context of the 34th Psalm and the remainder of the Bible?
The life of Joseph serves as a good example in answering this question. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers – how was this God’s deliverance (Genesis 37:28)? In Egypt, Jospeh was tempted on a daily basis by Potiphar’s wife – how was this God’s deliverance (Genesis 39:10)? When Joseph denied every advance of Potiphar’s wife, she eventually lied about Joseph trying to force himself upon her and had him thrown into prison – how was this God’s deliverance (Genesis 39:17-20)? After Joseph had interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and baker, he was again forgotten about for another two years in prison – how was this God’s deliverance (Genesis 40:23-41:1)? The life of Joseph was filled with obstacles, but the Lord was constantly working the entire time (Genesis 39:2, 21).
Our expectation of God’s deliverance would have been to save Joseph from the pit at the very beginning of his trials, but God works differently than man (Genesis 37:24). The Lord was working on His timetable and knew precisely what He was doing! When Pharaoh had his two dreams and no one else was able to interpret the dreams, the cupbearer remembered Joseph (Genesis 41:12-13). Joseph was called before Pharaoh and by God’s provision interpreted the two dreams (Genesis 41:16, 25-36). Immediately, Joseph was taken from prison and raised to be second in command of all of Egypt (Genesis 41:38-45). Now that Joseph was in power in Egypt, God used this occasion to bring about a great deliverance of the family of Jacob (Genesis 45:7). God brought the family of Jacob into Egypt a few in number, but when they exited from Egypt they left as a mighty and populous nation (Deuteronomy 26:5). When it seemed that all hope was lost in the life of Joseph, the Lord’s deliverance caused everything to work out perfectly in His time!
Another biblical example of God’s deliverance that occurs oddly from our perspective is at the conclusion of Jesus’ life. When Jesus ascended into Jerusalem, He knew exactly what was going to happen to Him in the city (Luke 9:22; 13:33-34; 18:33). This foreknowledge did not keep Him from fulfilling His Father’s will, but rather as He prayed, so He did (Luke 22:42-44)! Jesus prayed to the One able to save Him from death, and His prayer was heard because of His piety, but it did not change the will of God (Hebrews 5:7). Jesus was arrested, He was tried, He was found innocent, but He was still sentenced to be crucified – how was this the deliverance of God?
In the 34th Psalm, David reminds us of the great promise of the Lord’s deliverance. David wrote – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all” (34:19). The promise of God’s deliverance gives us courage to face adversity, but we cannot overlook the proceeding verse. David wrote – “He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken” (34:20). When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord’s promised deliverance was not before the cross, but rather on the far side of death and sacrifice. Jesus went to the cross and suffered, because it was through His death, burial, and resurrection that God brought about the greatest deliverance ever extended to mankind. We would have done anything to save our child from such suffering and anguish, but God delivered His Son at precisely the time He had determined.
What application can we make from these two examples of God’s deliverance? The promises of God are true and faithful. Every one of God’s promises have and will always be fulfilled. In the darkest moment of a trial, we cannot give up our hope and trust in God. His deliverance may not arrive at the instant that we most desire, but that does not mean that He is not working and bringing about His deliverance in His own time. We must also recognize that our deliverance from a trial may not be physical, the cost of our faithfulness toward God may cost us our lives, but if we trust in God – His deliverance will come! May God bless us with hearts that are trusting and understanding that in His time – His deliverance will come! We may not know when or how, but we can rest peacefully trusting in His promise – His deliverance will come!
