Last Updated on November 6, 2024 by Andrea

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God Delivers Us, But Not the Way We Predict

Hard Time

In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to deliver us from evil. That might mean asking God to deliver us from danger or fear. However, we don’t often think about God delivering us in our regular lives. It’s only when He delivers us in a BIG way that we realize what He’s done.

I live in Central Florida and a couple of years ago Hurricane Ian blasted through our state. We had stronger winds and more rain than I’ve seen in my 20 years of Florida living. My friends on the west coast of Florida are living in sheer devastation.

My neighborhood nearly flooded. Out of 10 homes, ours was one of only three that did not have some kind of lake creeping up to my front door. God delivered us. We are able to house a neighbor’s horse until their new lake subsides. No one in our neighborhood, and none of my friends, experienced damage or injury…Praise God.

God Delivers Us From Danger

God delivered us from the clutches of a terrible storm. He promises He will deliver us from all kinds of harm in Psalm 40:2-3 ~

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the Lord

and put their trust in him.

God delivers us from dangers seen and unseen. He delivers us from uncertainty during difficult times and fear during dangerous times (and not-so-dangerous times). We don’t always know what DIDN’T happen to us. God delivers on time. God is never late. The love of God always wins. When those winds were crashing around my house, God was there.

And when He delivers us, we have a new song – a hymn of praise reflecting God’s glory.

Deliverance Is Not Always How We Think It Will Be

Daniel and His Friends

Sometimes deliverance does not come in the way we expect. Take Daniel and his friends, for instance. In the book of Daniel (Daniel 3:8-30), Daniel and his friends (Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-Nego – Rack, Shack, and Benny if you are a Veggie Tales fan 😄) were taken from their home to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted them trained for service to Babylon. As time went on, the king erects a golden statue and commands everyone to worship the statue

Daniel and his friends know that the punishment for not worshipping the statue is certain death. Yet they also know that to worship the statue violates two of the 10 Commandments (You will have no other gods before me & you will not make a carved image). They do the right thing and refuse to worship the statue, trusting that God would deliver them. I would venture to say that they didn’t expect deliverance in the way it came.

God allows King Nebuchadnezzar to throw all Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-Nego in the blazing furnace, turned up seven times hotter than usual. God’s omniscience is amazing to me. He knew what would happen and God’s plan is perfect. When the king saw four men walking around in the fire, not burning up, he commanded they be released from the fire and the king gave glory to the one true God. I am sure that these three young men didn’t expect God to deliver them by allowing them to be thrown in the fire. But God’s ways are not our ways. We must put our lives into God’s hands and trust the outcome.

Deliverance Today

As a communication expert, I see that sometimes we overlook our deliverance because our circumstances are not what we expected. Perhaps five days of isolation with no electric or internet is enough to make us snappy with our spouse and kids. Perhaps we think of all the work we will have to to clean the yard AND when we return to work and a mountain of to-do items that have been waiting for us.

God delivers us. Our job is to recognize that if he saves us from a storm (literal or symbolic), danger, evil, or fear, He also provides a way for us to avoid snapping at our family members, the ability to clean up the yard, and the time to get caught up at work.

If He can deliver us from one thing, like a hurricane, he can deliver us from all things that might worry us. We need to trust the Holy Spirit will come to our rescue. We trust that Jesus Christ sees us and will not forsake us.

How Do You Experience God’s Deliverance?

Maybe you believe all this but aren’t sure what it really means. What should you do with this knowledge?

Pray

First, pray. Praise God for all the times He’s delivered you from danger, whether you knew it or not. Praise God for the good news that is Christ Jesus and the salvation He brings. Pray and praise God that while He cares for you, He also gives you free will to act the way you think is best, to do a good thing. Yet trusting in free will can be tricky as our actions and desires may not line up with God’s. This is where prayer comes in. When we pray, we align ourselves with God’s will.

Ask

Second, ask God to open your eyes to His protection. Ask Him to show you how He is taking care of you. Get to know God’s words so you can see how He has cared for His people through time. Studying the apostle Paul is a great way to do this. Paul was beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, and left for dead. Yet he believed God’s best for him. He trusted God’s plan, even when he didn’t understand it.

Human beings don’t often peer into the spiritual realm and when we only look at the physical world we can miss God’s purpose for us. The disciples are a great example of this. They needed their eyes open after Jesus Christ was killed. They had no idea that He would rise on the third day (despite His telling them that very fact). Each needed to take a closer look at Jesus and what He said to them. Had they done this, their eyes may have been opened to His protection for them.

Listen

Third, listen. Take time to be quiet and really listen for God to answer you. He desires to speak with His children. One of the ways that God speaks to us is through the Bible. Don’t neglect to read the Old Testament, though! There are lots of examples of His faithfulness in the stories of God’s people. The story of Abraham, the life of Moses, and the journey of the children of Israel and Mount Sinai are all examples of God’s faithfulness to His people.

Praise

Fourth, praise. When you notice that God has delivered you from something, STOP and praise Him. Give thanks for the rescue – know that He always provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Even if you don’t know the details of the peril you were rescued from, thank God for taking care of you. Praise Him for his good work in your life. Let your praise reflect your love of God.

Write

Fifth, write it down. Start a new note in your phone or start a new page in your journal and label it ‘Delivered.’ Every time you notice God has saved you from something, write down the details and the date. Over time you’ll see all the ways God is caring for you. The Christian faith is a journey and it’s fruitful to write down all the way you see God moving in your life. Be sure to include Scriptures that speak to you – the Word of God is living and powerful and when we tie to to deliverance we begin to see the relevance of Scripture in a whole new way.

How has God delivered you lately? Let us know in the comments.

In Christ

🌸 Andrea

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