Our God Will See Us ThroughSample

DELIVERER

By Lauren Lee Anderson

Ever think about what it means to be delivered? When we find ourselves in what appears to be a no-way-out situation, we all desire to be rescued, right? It’s in those moments that many of us turn to God—or return to God—asking for a miracle. Maybe you've heard the story of how God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites. Perhaps you’ve read how he sent an earthquake to break down the jail cell around Paul and Silas. And we can envision the moment when a woman suffering an affliction simply touched Jesus’s robe and was instantly healed.

Those are examples of instantaneous deliverance. But sometimes deliverance doesn’t happen in a moment. Sometimes God’s rescue comes not by seeing us out of our difficulty, but by seeing us through it.

We see the ongoing deliverance God can offer in the story of the Israelites. While slaves in Egypt, they longed for the new land and freedom God had promised. But days turned into years, and they were still enslaved. Until one day, God directed Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But on their journey, they soon faced a sea ahead of them and an advancing Egyptian army behind them. They were stuck. And in an instant, God provided a miraculous moment of deliverance by parting the Red Sea and bringing them safely to the other side. I can only imagine how amazed they were to witness an actual miracle. They must have believed that they were finally about to enter their promised land. In reality, the Israelites were embarking on a 40-year journey through the desert to their new land. And it didn’t take long for them to forget God’s past deliverance. But the same God who parted the Red Sea continued to provide for their daily needs as they wandered through the desert.

I’ve experienced this in my own life. Whether I’m facing financial hardships, difficult relationships, or dreams I feel might never come to fruition, I’ve asked for God to make himself abundantly clear and pave the way to my “deliverance.” And sure, there have been times when he sends a random check my way, cultivates conversations that lead to relational breakthroughs, or opens doors to new opportunities. But most of the time I see his deliverance in the day-to-day. He’s opened my eyes to his faithfulness to walk with me step by step, showing me that sometimes his provision isn’t in the moment, but in the journey together.

Do you feel stuck? Does it seem you are wandering through your own desert? Does worry occupy more of your head space than you’d care to admit? Here’s one thing I know: Our God is still a deliverer. Our God is the same God who made a way through the sea and provided for the Israelites in the desert. You are never alone in your battle. And you’re not alone in your desert. His deliverance may not always be immediate or exactly like we hope it would be, but we can rest in the truth that his nature is the same. And he promises to always see us through.