DELIVERANCE IN TROUBLE

DELIVERANCE IN TROUBLE

“But now, thus says the Lord , who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” (Isaiah 43:1-2)

In the above passage of Scripture, God promised to be with the children of Israel in the waters, in the rivers and in the fire. The impression one gets is that God promised to deliver His people from the trouble whilst they were still in the trouble. This is contrary to human thinking. We would most naturally gravitate towards an avoidance of trouble outside the trouble. But our God is omnipotent. He said, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord . “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

The ways and thoughts of God are much higher than ours. During the plagues in Egypt, the children of Israel did not experience any of the effects of the plagues. For example, the Egyptians experienced deep darkness but the children of Israel had light.

“So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” (Exodus 10:22-23)

When the three Hebrew men , Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar, God delivered them from the fire while they were still in the fire. They were delivered while in trouble.

“These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spoke, and said to his counsellors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men loose and walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed. And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God!” (Daniel 3:23-25, MEV)

The Son of God, Jesus appeared in the fiery furnace with the Hebrew men. God did not extricate them from the fire but saved them from it while they were still in it. Amazing!

“The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel, so that they go forward. And as for you, lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it; then the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” (Exodus 14:15-16)

We must understand that God always has a plan that is so superior to anything man can think of. In the arena of trouble, God always finds a way for His people. He delivers in the trouble not out of it.

God commanded Noah to build an ark on dry land. It took Noah about 100 years to build that ark, not knowing when the flood would come. After the ark was built, God sent the flood and through it, delivered Noah and his family from the flood while they were still in it. Incredible!

“Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came upon the earth. And Noah went with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives into the ark because of the floodwaters. Everything that creeps on the land from clean and unclean animals and birds came in two by two, male and female, to Noah into the ark, as God had commanded Noah. After seven days, the waters of the flood were on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the same day, all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:6-12)

One can only imagine what Noah and his family experienced in the ark during and after the flood. Yet, in spite of the trouble, they were delivered and the deliverance came while they were in the midst of the flood.

No wonder God told the children of Israel “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10). This is still true today in the 21st century for true believers.

You see, God has not changed and He has spoken in Hebrews 13, “Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” (v.5)

My brethren, God will never forsake you. He is with you in trouble and He will deliver you if you trust Him. What really is interesting is that the trouble is not the problem. God may allow trouble in order to help us grow in faith. The issue is our trust in God. He is committed 100% to being with us and if God is for us, who can be against us. It doesn't really matter what the obstacle is, what the problem or trouble is, God will deliver us in the trouble for His glory. I want to encourage you today to look up to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He will deliver you because He is the great Deliverer, the great I AM THAT I AM, the omnipotent God, the everlasting Father, the Alpha and Omega and the Beginning and the End. At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. Be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit - He will prompt you to move in the right direction, to speak with boldness, to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit and to emerge with a powerful testimony. We serve an awesome God.

Rest assured, God will deliver you from the trouble in the trouble. Hallelujah! Have a blessed day.