*He Will Deliver Us*

 

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. (2 Corinthians 1:9-10)

Father,

There are times when my weakness is so overwhelming that it feels as if I’ve received a death sentence. There are times when life seems so dificult, so oppressive, so impossible, it almost seems as if I’ve been sentenced to death. Going forward seems impossible. I cannot see a way of escape. In whatever direction I look I see misery and unhappiness. I feel as though I have been sentenced to death.

And yet I know that these “death sentences” are actually demonstrations of your love for me. In order to free me from my insidious temptation to rely on myself, you must place me in situations that are far beyond my ability to bear. You must overburden me so that I will be forced to cast my burdens upon you. You must sentence me to death in order that I will rely on the One who is able to raise from the dead. You must kill my self-sufficiency, which then forces me to press into you. Though these “death sentences” are painful, they are your goodness to me. They are your faithful, fatherly discipline. You want me to experience the delightful freedom of relying solely on you.

When it feels as though I’ve been sentenced to death, I look to you. You have delivered me from deadly peril in the past, and your past faithfulness is a guarantee of your future faithfulness. You have proved yourself to be faithful in the past, you will also prove yourself to be faithful in the future. You are my deliverance. You are my hope. You are my light in the darkness.

I set my hope firmly on you, and nothing else. I don’t know when or how you will bring deliverance, but you will bring it. Even when I cannot see how it is possible for me to delivered from dire circumstances, I will trust in you. You have delivered me in the past, you will deliver me again. I throw myself upon you, cling to you, hope in you, and rest in you, knowing that you are a delivering God.