E47 - Hope’s Harbor Gritty Bible Devotions - Deliver Me
Hope’s Harbor
Gritty Bible Devotions
Episode #47
Title: Deliver Me
Date: March 28, 2022
Contact: info@hopesharbor.net
Key verse(s): I want you to listen carefully to the key verses because they are declarations of faith and trust written by King David.
Psalm 37:39 – ‘But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.’
Psalm 38:22 – ‘Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!’
H8668 tesh-oo-aw', tesh-oo-aw'
From H7768 in the sense of H3467; rescue (literally or figuratively, personal, national or spiritual): - deliverance, help, safety, salvation, victory.
H7768 - A primitive root; properly to be free; but used only causatively and reflexively to halloo (for help, that is, freedom from some trouble): - cry (aloud, out), shout.
Thank you: I want to thank all who have listened to this podcast since the beginning, especially if you joined in after August 2021. Ever since I began recovery from covid in August my brain hasn’t functioned fully. It’s like having Alzheimer’s at times and at others like having dyslexia.
When recording an episode it’s a real chore to moderate my voice, understand the notes, operate the recording program, and remember where I am when I blank out in the middle of it all.
This is not a complaint, I’m thankful to be alive and humbled at how fragile life can be. I just want to serve you who listen to the devotions and give you a clear understanding of Scripture so that you are blessed with the promises and power of the Word of GOD.
I have experienced these blessings at times and want to pass them on.
So, thank you – GOD’s peace find you and keep you.
Intro: In episode 43 I explained how when I first came to saving faith in GOD, I woke up, and then after several years of struggling to understand the Bible and find a church where the Bible was taught and held in high esteem, I went through a second awakening.
These were spiritual awakenings. Similar to when I was diagnosed with being in a trance state, (it’s like a daydream, not trance in the normal sense), I have to stay focused on the moment, to live in the moment.
Spiritual awakening is the same in that we have to stay in the moment of living with everyday circumstances.
Waking up involved learning about the self-condemnation/hatred/and destructive mentality I lived with.
And now I hope to share with you how GOD is in the process of delivering me from the practice of those three toxic schemes of Satan.
Devotion focus: Being delivered from mental bondage is normally a process –
I wish GOD delivered us the moment we become aware of living a lie. But my experience and those of Christian writers from the past are that GOD uses the process of suffering to teach us deep lessons of a life lived here, on this sin-filled planet we call Earth.
We know Jesus suffered on the cross, but did you know that as a man, having set aside His power and authority as GOD the Son He learned through suffering? Listen to Hebrews 5:8 – ‘though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.’
Obedience here means compliance and submission. He gave us an example of what we must do at times, to go through painful times of process necessary for us to become free.
I have longed for a life free from trouble, pain, stress, loss, etc., but in looking back I see what I gained from having to go through a process with GOD.
This process involved me learning a measure of patience, compassion, empathy with those going through similar hard times, a willingness to help others, and a hunger for GOD’s Word in the Bible, to name just a few benefits.
At times this meant trusting GOD’s Word when I couldn’t see how a particular promise would be fulfilled. Here’s one example. When going through a divorce after nearly 30 years of marriage, GOD spoke to my spirit and let me know if I would trust Him, He would restore me. It took several years before I realized the restoration was taking place.
Another time when I felt without hope, GOD again spoke in that quiet voice to my spirit and brought to mind a promise from Joel 2:25 – ‘So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust,…’
I couldn’t see how this would work out, but with time it did. I am restored now and the pain of those days is a distant memory. I choose to focus on today and not stay stuck in the past of pain and all I lost. I can tell you the memories are there, but I don’t dwell on them.
So where are you in all this when it comes to being delivered, brought out of your pain and distress?
I don’t have a formula, though there could be one offered through counseling. However, I can tell you a good starting place is in prayer to GOD. Ask Him for help… ask Him to bring you out of trouble, and if you have to stay awhile longer in it, ask GOD for the strength to endure. Just try not to lose hope as you wait for rescue.
Summary: Deliverance, or freedom from painful circumstances or people takes time, but also it takes an intentional action on your part. I don’t believe in the quip “GOD takes care of those who take care of themselves,” or this one, “Let go and let GOD.”
These are extremes. The balanced practice is to ask GOD for help; get informed by studying the process involved in setting boundaries, and get to work. If you wait around for GOD to do it all, you’re likely in for a long wait.
Action to consider: Take time to write down the people or things causing you so much pain, anger, despair, etc., and beside each one write ways that may help rid you of each one, or at least set a boundary with them or it.
A good book to help with boundaries is Cloud & Townsend’s book:
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
Next week’s devotion: What is the Greatest Need?