What do you think of when you hear the word DELIVERED? Pizza? Mail? FEDEX? Flowers? A new baby?
The one that caught my attention was found in my reading lately: God Delivers! God is in the delivery business—He has the power to set free, I just need to realize it.
We are all enslaved to something…fear, perfectionism, food, work, alcohol, drugs, pornography, television, gambling, worry—but not matter what, Jesus delivers. He can release its hold on us.
He delivers us from:
Fear – Psalm 34:4
Enemies- Psalm 31:15
Affliction – Psalm 34:19
Trouble – Psalm 41:1
Death – Psalm 33:19
Transgressions – Psalm 39:8
Mire – Psalm 69:14
Jesus came to set the captive free. He tells the disciples to pray this way…Our Father who art in Heaven…deliver us from evil. DELIVER US. Freed from what holds us captive. This is one of the purposes of His coming in human flesh.
When I realized God’s ability to deliver, I began to understand more of what it meant when He didn’t deliver Jesus from His persecutors. He had the power to free Jesus from the mob, Pilate, Caiphas and even from the nails that held Him to the cross. But He didn’t. Instead of being delivered from His fate, He delivered us from ours.
I saw a sign outside a local church that said:
“Jesus’ nails didn’t hold him on the cross; love did.”
Powerful!
How has He delivered you?
... Do you need deliverance?
Psalm 91,
Jeanne
Good stuff -- Praise God for setting this captive free!
ReplyDelete"Instead of being delivered from His fate, He delivered us from ours." Wow. Powerful.
ReplyDeleteI love these thoughts the Lord gave you, Jeanne ... especially the last paragraph. Powerful and thought-provoking. What a Savior!
ReplyDeleteDeliver? Makes me think of how I have been delivered from the grip of sin in my life and have been set free. Free to live as Christ would have me to and blessed to be called His.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteThis rings true in my heart...God continues to deliver from roots of fear, setting me free with a new song in my heart!
Thanks for all of your comments. I am thinking a lot about this as I read in Scripture. I know He has delivered me from so many of my fears!! And, of course, deliverance from my sins is an ongoing process :)
ReplyDeleteThis has caused me to think beyond what I think He can do, to realize He can do so much more that I can imagine.
Thanks for stopping by the stream,
Jeanne