Feb. 28 | The Promise of Deliverance
Psalm 72:12, “For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.”
The Bible promises God will deliver and rescue all those who call on Him, especially the needy and those who have no one to help. However, today we are witnessing the greatest slaughter of Christians around the world. According to Gordon-Conwell Seminary, over 150,000 Christians are killed for their faith each year. Why doesn’t God deliver these precious people from persecution and death?
Also, there are countless millions of children who wake up each day starving and suffering physical harm, not to mention the many around the world who are afflicted with cancer and other destructive ailments. Why doesn’t God deliver those needy people? Some Christians say it is, “God’s will for people to suffer.” However, if God was a fatalistic Creator and just made everything the way it is and had no intention of intervening, why did He promise to deliver us if we cried out to Him?
These are all tough questions I get asked as a pastor; however, I believe the answer is simple; “God created us perfect, but sin brought death and destruction. For that reason, He sent Jesus to deliver us from Satan’s affliction” (1 John 3:8). When we cry out to Him in our suffering, He hears us and delivers us either, in this world, or the world to come.
Think about it. Our greatest need of deliverance isn’t from the sufferings in this life but from this life, itself. Consider if you were healed from every sickness and delivered from every affliction in this life; however, you still would die and face God’s judgment as a sinner (Hebrews 9:27).
The greatest deliverance isn’t the one to keep us safe and healthy in this world, but to rescue us from sin’s destruction upon our soul for eternity (Matthew 10:28-31). This is why, when we cry out to be saved, we can trust that God will always save us.
At the same time, if we can trust that God is going to save us in the world to come, then we can also believe that He cares about our daily needs in this life, too (Matthew 6:32-33). Francis Frangipane wrote, “To win the war against fear, we must know the true God as He is revealed in the Bible. He works to give us lasting peace. He receives joy, not from condemning us but in rescuing us from the devil.” So whenever you are needy and afflicted cry out to God because He promises to deliver you!
REFLECTION
Do you believe God hears you when you cry out to Him?
ACTION
- Other than sin, think of two things you need to be delivered from.
- Cry out to God and ask Him to save and deliver you from the things you are facing.
- Trust God to deliver you in this life or the one to come!