“Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
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“For innumerable evils have compassed me about: my iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up: they are more than the hairs of my head: therefore my heart fails me. 13. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord make haste to help me.”
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Unless you are a very fortunate person, or unless you are a person who has more faith than most people, you will walk through the valleys of life. David called it the “valley of the shadow of death.” Life’s valleys do not normally physically kill people, but they can kill their dreams and expectations. We probably all have examples of how this has happened to us. Sometimes we do not intend to drift into a valley, but we do anyway. How can we get out of the valley? Our text reminds us of one important fact that we let escape us in our valleys, and that is that God is in our valleys with us. You have probably heard the song, “The God of the mountain is still God in the valley.” I imagine that our text was the force behind that song. If you are a Christian, there is nothing that you face in life alone. It is possible that you need to be reminded of this at this time in your life. You might be facing personal problems, family problems, or even church problems, and you are at your wit's end. I read one time that “if you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” It is a fact that you are not in this valley alone, for “the Lord is with you, His rod and His staff, they protect you.” Hey, come on; believe that God is with you in your valley. The Bible also reminds us of the importance of faith in Jesus when we face everything that we have to face in life. This is particularly true when we are in the valleys of life. The writer of the hymn “Just as I am, without one plea” illustrates the importance of faith in delivering us out of our valleys. “The hymn was written by Charlotte Elliott, who was an invalid for more than fifty years. Often as she watched those about her busy with so many important tasks she became discouraged. But her faith helped her to rise above despair. This hymn is a testament of the faith she had when gave meaning to her sheltered life.” (A Treasury of Sermon Illustrations, edited by Charles L. Wallis) You will probably remember this the next time you hear this hymn. In Prayer, seek Jesus in faith today. Talk to Him about your valley. Confess you unbelief and lean on Him I have one more point to make about getting out of valleys: When you get out of your valley, help someone else get out of their's. There is nothing that can cleanse and strengthen our faith like helping someone else. You can begin by praying for them. Get out of that valley. Well, do it! Bro. Joe “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”
This prayer that Jesus taught us to pray helps us deal with inevitable temptations and gives us the promise of deliverance from them. We are introduced to temptation in the beginning of the Bible with Adam and Eve. A temptation is a test that we have to deal with in daily life. Satan will put us to the test in all kinds of circumstances. We need to recognize Satan’s presence when we are tempted to do something that we know is wrong. Satan will make it look inviting as though we have to do what he is tempting us to do. There is no limit to the temptations that Satan will put in our way. Furthermore, we do not have to wonder if Satan is going to tempt us. There is no human being in the world that will not have to face temptation. We just need to recognize when he is tempting us to do wrong. Some things we are tempted to do, or not do, do not always appear as evil. Satan is good, or should say bad, at that. Perhaps, you are dealing with a temptation now, something that you really want to do. Read on: Jesus told us that when we face temptation, we should ask for His deliverance: “deliver us from evil…” This means that we do not have to fold in to the temptations that we face, for deliverance is available through the Lord. When Jesus was tempted in Matthew 4, He met each temptation with quotes from scripture. In Ephesians 6:16, Paul gave some guidance on meeting and being delivered from temptation: “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Jesus delivers us from temptation through scripture, faith and prayer. I don’t think that I have told you anything that you did not know, but these are tools of deliverance that we should actually use in meeting daily temptations and our deliverance from them. Deliverance does not come from our strength, but by the strength of the Lord. Jesus is bigger than any temptation that we might meet, and we need to hide behind Him. He sincerely means to deliver us from evil. He actually died on the cross in order to give us the strength to overcome temptation. He has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us to give us the strength that we need for deliverance. The good news is that we are not defenseless in our encounters with temptation and with evil. We need to use the faith and power that only the Lord can give us. Deliverance from temptation is abundantly available through Jesus. Bro. Joe “Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me. 10. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God: thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 11. Quicken me (preserve my life)., for your name’s sake: for your righteousness sake bring my soul out of trouble.”
David had a deep need to be delivered, probably while running from Saul, but he had a deeper need than to just be delivered. After deliverance, he wanted God to do a work on his life. The best way to explain what I mean to look at the text. First, David asked the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. David had real enemies throughout his life and he needed constant deliverance from whomever his enemies might be. He depended upon the Lord to “hide” him. I don’t know exactly how the Lord would do that, but he certainly can. (Hey, He’s God!) The point is that we can depend on the Lord to deliver us and “hide” us however He chooses to do it. I guess we have some human enemies, but the main enemy we need deliverance from is Satan, and only the Lord can deliver and hide us from him. Second, David asked the Lord to teach him to do His will. David knew that deliverance was tied in with staying in the will of God. The emphasis here is on “His will” instead of just teaching. David was not looking for intellectual guidance as much he was looking for guidance in the will of God. We should certainly be conscious of God’s will in our lives. The times that I have wandered from God’s will have been tough going. You need to pray today for the Lord to teach you His will today. Whatever your job in life, God has a will for your life. This will come about only through prayer and meditation. If you haven’t thought about God’s will for you, it is time for you to do it. Selah Third, David asked the Lord to “quicken him.” “Quicken as used in the Bible refers to live. The best translation of this that I have read is, “preserve my life.” David had some real enemies who literally wanted him dead; therefore, he was depending on the Lord to keep him alive. This can also be interpreted as asking the Lord to be alive in our lives, guiding, delivering and hiding us. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to lead and guide His people, and we need to ask the Lord to “quicken” us in this way. It is my prayer that your reading this article has made you more aware of the activity of the Lord in your life, and that you will seek His deliverance and guidance for your life in this way. Do it! Bro. Joe |
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