Micah: Justice + Mercyনমুনা

God of Deliverance

By Gary Adyniec

“Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in your midst? Has your counselor perished? For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor. Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, you shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered; there the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies” Micah 4:9–10 (NKJV)

From the beginning of time, God made man to walk in unity with Him, but man turned away from God and proceeded to “suppress the truth by their wickedness” and “exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:18, 25 NIV). We can look around us today and clearly see the wickedness of man, and yet when we talk to just about anyone about their life, few will admit they’re not going to heaven. 

Many think all roads lead to heaven or if they do more “good” than “bad,” they’ll get to go to “the good place.” The Bible is clear: Humanity cannot inherit the kingdom of God apart from being redeemed and delivered by God through the person and work of His Son Jesus Christ. In order to be saved and go to heaven, we must put our faith in Him. This brings us to our passage in Micah today . . . 

The message Micah gave is not a new message. It’s the same one from the very beginning, the same one from the time God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and the same one we have today—a message James eloquently summed up in James 4:8 (ESV): “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; unchanging in His love for His people. God allows us to have the will to choose Him and He waits until we do. He will let us stay in our sin suffering like a woman about to give birth until we are so sick of it we cry out to Him. He will let us go all the way to the captivity of our sin in Babylon, but“There you shall be delivered.” 

For the children of Israel, there was deliverance. For us today, there is deliverance. For all believers everywhere, no matter what you’re going through, there is ultimate and complete deliverance to come! God allows suffering so we can draw closer to Him as we cry out, “God help me, I need You” and confess our sin to Him. In all these things, He is working; through all these things, He is redeeming and reconciling us for our good and His glory!

What are you seeking deliverance from today? Whatever it is, I encourage you to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV) and to remember God’s “grace is sufficient for you, for [His] strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).

Pause: Why does God choose to work so frequently through our suffering?

Practice: Write down different areas where you are seeking deliverance and help from God. 

Pray: Holy Father, I confess my sin of not taking You serious at Your Word or in the way I live my life. Help me to walk worthy of Your blood that was shed for my sins. In Jesus' name. Amen!