Category Archives: Protector / Deliverer

All Knowing, Faith / Trusting God, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Protector / Deliverer

Taking The Long Way… On Purpose

After terrorists flew planes into the twin towers in New York years ago, many people were shaken and actually turned toward Jehovah for answers. I know a single mother who has been through a lot of trials, and her faith in God has come out stronger than before she endured them. I have read about a particular online blogger who is doing very well today, but first went through a season of unemployment that seemed to be quite scary. Now, he readily praises God in that that situation in his life prepared and seasoned him to be more faithful and trusting of God in his life. In my personal life, the worst failures I endured have brought me closer to God and strengthened my relationship with Him.

We see this same theme throughout scripture over and over. Joseph and David were seasoned and prepared by God through difficult times to be better able to be faithful to God and obey Him.

The same is true when God led the people out of Egypt and into the wilderness. The journey did not take long because God got lost. God was actively and intentionally preparing His people along the way for what He knew was to come later.

Exodus 13:17-22

God Leads the People

      17Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt. 19Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.” 20Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

When things do not go the way you expect, when God shows you something He is going to do in your life, but you seem to be taking the long way to get there… prayerfully turn to God and ask Him to help you be patient and learn the lessons He has planned for you. Do not consider it a failure just because something does not happen quickly, in your desired timing.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Protector / Deliverer, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Stop Defining God By How You Would Do Things

I hear many things said today by people who reject Jehovah and even by those who claim to follow Him that reflect a poor understanding of Him. Yes, even many who claim to follow Jehovah through Jesus Christ still do not understand the God they worship. They try to define God based on how they feel comfortable or what the world tells them is right rather than understand God as He has revealed Himself through the Bible.

“I don’t want to believe in a God that would allow pain and suffering in the world.”

“The God I know would not hurt anyone.”

“God is a God of love so that behavior cannot really be sin or why would he make people that way?”

“God would not hurt animals.”

“God would not use the wicked or suffering to bring about His plan.”

The above are all examples of wildly false statements that people use when they do not understand God. If we constantly try to view God through a man made box in which we constrain artificially how we are willing to accept that He interacts with this world, we will continue to drift farther and farther from Him. If we seek Him as revealed through the Bible and through prayer, accepting Him even when we disagree or do not understand, we will draw near to Him and He to us.

Exodus 11

The Last Plague

      1Now the LORD said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely. 2“Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold.” 3The LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people.

      4Moses said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, 5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6‘Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again. 7‘But against any of the sons of Israel a dog will not even bark, whether against man or beast, that you may understand how the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’ 8“All these your servants will come down to me and bow themselves before me, saying, ‘Go out, you and all the people who follow you,’ and after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.

      9Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; yet the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the sons of Israel go out of his land.

Yes, God not only allowed, but caused the firstborn of all the Egyptians to die. He did not only do this for the ruling Pharoah or the rich and powerful but explicitly even to the lowest slave and the cattle as well. Oh, and He hardened Pharaoh’s heart to get to this point without releasing the Hebrew people so that He could demonstrate signs and wonders. Yes, that was God. No, He was not wrong to do it. His ways are above our ways. Just because we don’t understand it does not mean it is wrong. We must break away from always assuming we are wise and understand the big picture… we do not. God does.

I could spend a lot of time debating why God worked this way and how I process it, but instead, let’s go back to what God said about it.

      9Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders will be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

God wanted to demonstrate an amazing series of wonders so that the Egyptians and the Hebrew people would know that He is God. This establishes a strong and memorable foundation to help His people as they go on their journey out of Egypt and into the wilderness and eventually into the promised land. These wonders are still talked about today as an example of God’s power and deliverance for His people. They also serve as warning to watch how quickly some of His people forget Him and fall away from faith as the times get tough, despite amazing wonders done in His name.

If we are to draw near to God, we must try to understand Him through studying the Bible and not through surface opinions of our own or the world that try to say what He should or should not do. His followers seek Him to understand Him and we follow Him even when we do not understand Him. We do not redefine who we think He should be to make us more comfortable.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Encouragement, Faith / Trusting God, His Timing Not Ours, Persecution / Glorifying God, Promises, Protector / Deliverer

The Lord Is Good To Those Who Wait For Him

It is easy to get discouraged at times when we feel as though we are doing what God has commanded, but we do not see the results coming as quickly as we expect. We trust Him, but then we also expect to see results and quickly. We may find encouragement in reminding ourselves to be patient and trust in God while we continue to do what He has commanded. His ways are not our ways… they are better.

Isaiah 55:8-9

      8“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

      9“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

As we continue to submit to and follow God in our lives, we come to realize that not only does God do things differently than we expect in terms of “how”… but often He does things differently in terms of “when”. We tend to be impatient and look for quick results. It can be discouraging at times, but be encouraged and place your trust in God and in His timing.

Lamentations 3:25-26

25The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

26It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.

Isaiah 40:31

31Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Even Moses was discouraged  when things did not turn out well at first (Exodus 5)… and God actually told Him ahead of time that Pharaoh would not let the people go until God compelled him to do so (Exodus 3:19-20).

Exodus 3:19-20

19“But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. 20“So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.

Exodus 5

Israel’s Labor Increased

      1And afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’” 2But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” 3Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labors!” 5Again Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!” 6So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters over the people and their foremen, saying, 7“You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8“But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it. Because they are lazy, therefore they cry out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9“Let the labor be heavier on the men, and let them work at it so that they will pay no attention to false words.”

      10So the taskmasters of the people and their foremen went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I am not going to give you any straw. 11‘You go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but none of your labor will be reduced.’” 12So the people scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13The taskmasters pressed them, saying, “Complete your work quota, your daily amount, just as when you had straw.” 14Moreover, the foremen of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not completed your required amount either yesterday or today in making brick as previously?”

      15Then the foremen of the sons of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16“There is no straw given to your servants, yet they keep saying to us, ‘Make bricks!’ And behold, your servants are being beaten; but it is the fault of your own people.” 17But he said, “You are lazy, very lazy; therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’ 18“So go now and work; for you will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the quota of bricks.” 19The foremen of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble because they were told, “You must not reduce your daily amount of bricks.” 20When they left Pharaoh’s presence, they met Moses and Aaron as they were waiting for them. 21They said to them, “May the LORD look upon you and judge you, for you have made us odious in Pharaoh’s sight and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

      22Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm to this people? Why did You ever send me? 23“Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done harm to this people, and You have not delivered Your people at all.”

Often the immediate results we face when we begin a mission for God do not appear to be successful or turn out the way we expect. We do well to remember to be patient and continue to obey God’s instruction, put our faith in Him, and wait upon His timing.

Are there any areas of your life where you are discouraged? Always good to humbly and prayerfully consider if you are obeying what God instructed you to do. If so, continue to come before Him for help and continue to obey His instruction… and wait upon His timing for the results. God is never late… He is never early… He always completes something precisely when He intends to.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.