During this pandemic, I think we have all become far more familiar with the ‘delivery’ people! These people have become part and parcel (forgive the bad joke) of everyday life. So today we are thanking God for being ‘Our Deliverer.’ We are not talking here primarily about deliverance from demonic spirits, but about being ‘carried’ from a place of trouble or difficulty to a safe place, by our wonderful ‘Mighty Deliverer’
The Bible is full of examples of God delivering His people from danger and difficulty. Probably one of the earliest times was the crossing of the Red Sea, when God parted the water so that the children of Israel could cross on dry land and escape from the persuing Egyptian Army. This gave rise to a wonderful song of testimony, Exodus 15:1-19, with singing, dancing and tambourines. A real celebration.
This testimony of deliverance would have echoed down the generations, inspiring faith and confidence in their God, through the many ups and downs, with good leaders and bad. It emphasises again the importance of speaking out our testimony when the Lord has helped us, both for our own sake and for others too.
David was clearly a man who knew how important it was to know the Lord as His deliverer. He was able to say, when arguing the case to be allowed to have a go at the giant Goliath, ‘the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ 1 Samuel 17:37. This was a case when David’s own testimony was key, both for him and Saul. Sadly it would appear that Saul and the rest of the army had forgotten their own stories in the heat of the moment.
One time when David was marching with Achish, (with the Philistines this time!!) he returned to His base at Ziklag to discover that the Amelakites had raided the place. They had destroyed it by fire and taken all the wives and children as plunder. To add to David’s grief, (‘David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep’) the grief of David’s men turned to anger and they talked of stoning him.
We are then told ‘David strengthened himself in the Lord’, and inquired of the Lord if he should go after the Amelakites. The word from the Lord was ‘Persue them and you will overtake them’, so he goes, taking 400 of the men with him, those that still had some energy. Then, after some food and directions from an Egyptian, they find the raiding party ‘having a party’, and we are told that after a long fight, ‘David recovered everything the Amelakites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing…..David brought everything back’ 1 Samuel 30:1-20.
When we are in a challenging situation or in real difficulty, we need the testimonies that we read in the bible of God ‘our Deliverer’. Thanking God for His acts on behalf of His people historically, or for our own or other peoples contemporary testimonies will ignite our faith. The psalms are full of testimony, so if your mind goes blank, read something like Psalm 44:4-7. It is also good to record in a book yourself all the times, big and small, when the Lord has come to your rescue.
David’s testimony was a significant part of him being able to ‘strengthen himself’ in his hour of trouble. It is also highly likely that it was his testimony, of past deliverances, that inspired his men not to stone him, but to join him in battle, to win their families back from the enemy.
Today let us give thanks for past deliverances and remember all that the Lord has done for us. It may be that this will strengthen us for today’s battles or, if this is a time of peace for you, may be you can encourage someone else you know with your testimony of when the Lord came through for you as your ‘Mighty Deliverer.’
