How to Understand the Truth that God Delivers
For whatever unknown reason, I currently see more social media posts about tipping. One such post grabbed my attention. A delivery guy attempted to state his case affirming better tipping. A customer had left him a tip, and the delivery guy was upset about the customer’s additional comment.
The customer made the comment he hoped the tip was enough. The delivery guy then began to list various difficulties in his job. He identified traffic, problems in finding the delivery location, dealing with a messed-up order, waiting times, etc. The delivery guy hoped customers would recognize there is more to his job than we might think. Therefore, we should tip generously and without complaint.
Delivery Expectations
I’m not going to discuss tipping today. It honestly feels like a loaded topic! However, the delivery guy did get me thinking about my attitude toward delivery. For example, I expect Amazon to deliver in 2 days or less. After all, I am a Prime Member! I expect waiters and waitresses to deliver my meal in a timely manner and with a kind attitude. In addition, I believe my utility companies should deliver my bill in adequate time for me to pay my bill. I’m sure you can think of your own delivery expectations.
Our society is accustomed to delivery. We order something, it shows up. Whatever we ask for (and are willing to pay for) appears before us. Sadly, I think we transfer this delivery expectation to our Christian life.
God Delivers
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.”
Psalm 34:17, NIV
We read this verse and we see God like our sovereign superhero. However, God doesn’t work like Spiderman swooping in and removing us from our troubles. Nor does He necessarily remove all our troubles far away from us!
We must remember scripture never contradicts itself. All of scripture is fully God’s story. Therefore, we must consider and ponder additional verses to gain a complete picture of God’s concept of deliverance. Psalm 34:17 distinctly tells us God delivers. We must ask the question, what else should we know?
What Else Should We Know?
Willingly Wait for Deliverance
First of all, we may need to wait for deliverance. Psalms 27:13-14 says, “Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” (NLT) God will deliver His goodness in the timing He deems best. We are called to trust Him and endure with courage.
Don’t Waver
Second, we must not waver. Have you ever ordered something from a new company? Did the item arrive in a timely manner, or did you begin to wonder if you were swindled? I know I have gone through the mental anguish of feeling scammed! Before Paul begins detailing out the armor of God in Ephesians 6, he states, “be strong in the LORD and in His mighty power.” Believe God is who He says He is. Believe He is greater than anything we face.
Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (Romans 8:31b, NLT) We are on the winning side! When we waver in our faith, we tend to take back control. Then, we run the risk of making a decision God never intended for us to make. God calls us to trust who He is, and that He will deliver what is best.
Submit to God
Third, we must submit to God’s directives. God never meant for us to figure everything out on our own. James writes in his letter, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” (James 1:5, NLT). I love that God is described as generous in response to our need for wisdom! He will provide insight, understanding, direction, support, encouragement ~ whatever we may need so that we can endure while we wait for our deliverance.
Later in his letter, James states, “…humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you…” (James 4:7-8a, NLT). The enemy will try to convince us what he says is better intel than what God says. We will be more apt to hear God’s wisdom and submit to His directives when we place ourselves as close to Him as we can get. We must be in His Word; bring our concerns to Him; express gratitude and worship; and follow the example of Jesus.
Be Prepared to Fight
Fourth, even if we prefer Spiderman-style deliverance where we are rescued without having to do anything, we must be prepared to fight. In the book of Isaiah, the LORD makes a statement to the Israelites that we who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ can claim. “…You are my servant; I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9b-10, CSB)
God tells us we don’t need to fear. Instead, He will strengthen us and help us. If we were rescued Spidey-style, we wouldn’t need more strength or help. We can therefore conclude we will be in a position to need strength and help. Peter says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (! Peter 5:8, NLT) The enemy always wants to take us out. We must accept that we live in a war zone, and we must be ready to fight.
God Delivers our Soul
Lastly, we must understand our battle isn’t against other people or our circumstances. We often want God to deliver us from a difficult situation. We might have health issues, financial issues, emotional, or relational issues. In all honesty, we just want God to fix our life. Paul tells the believers at Ephesus, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, NLT)
We fight a spiritual battle in our minds, emotions, and spirit. The enemy is out to destroy our faith. God wants to deliver us and protect our souls. He is more concerned with our inner life, than the physical circumstances we deal with. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians that our troubles here on earth are small and temporary when we compare them to eternity. He encourages us to “fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:18b, NLT)
God Gladly Hears All our Requests
You may be wondering, can we still ask God to change our circumstance? Yes! God gladly listens! Remember, David says in Psalm 34, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them.” Psalm 116:1 says, “I love the LORD because He hears my voice…” (NLT). Isaiah 65:24 states, “I [God] will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” (Isaiah 65:24, NLT) In addition, Peter reminds us, “…the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayer…” (1 Peter 3:12a, CSB)
God is “…able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20, CSB) We must trust His wisdom and His choices. He is transforming us to be holy as He is holy. He delivers us even if our unwanted circumstances remain. God Almighty is working for “our good” (Romans 8:28) and there will come a day when He delivers us fully from all our troubles.
Delivery Hero Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash
