Just How God Will Deliver Us

The Verse of the Day for September 10, 2015 is taken from Isaiah 46:4 in the New Living Translation:

I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

The same verse is rendered this way in the New King James version:

Even to your old age, I am He,
And even to gray hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

The closing promise that God will deliver brought to mind a poem originally composed in the first person with a single individual in mind, but the work has currently been revised to refer to individuals in this way:

Just How God Will Deliver Us

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves,

that we should not trust in ourselves,

but in God which raises the dead:

Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver,

in whom we trust that he will still deliver us;

1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Just how God will deliver us we do not know,

But of His unfailing love and power we are sure:

He can send a raven and command a widow

To sustain Elijah and all who will endure.

Though He may not be early, God is never late.

We rest in knowing that our Father is faithful,

As we trust Him, learning to labor and to wait.

For each promise fulfilled we are ever grateful

And express our gratitude in word and in deed.

We sense there never was a more perilous time

But keep walking by faith wherever Christ may lead,

For grand mountain vistas await the ones who climb.

The hand of God brought us thus far along the way,

And we shall finish our course is all we can say.

The following poem is also revised to say “Protect us” and comes from a teaching series entitled “A Five-fold Prayer,” where we recognize who God is and what He will do:

As children run to safety in their father’s arms,

So we, too, run to you, “our shelter from life’s storms.”

Lord, we long to dwell with you in the secret place,

our buckler, our shield, deliverer, our fortress,

Strong tower, defender, who responds to our prayer.

For Lord, you are faithful, who will establish us

And protect us and deliver us from evil.

I make reference to God as “our deliverer who knows us by name,” in a poem originally inspired by series of teachings from Nehemiah related to rebuilding the wall and restoring the gates of Jerusalem:

A Prayer While Waiting at the Horse Gate

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:

but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 20:7

May we remember the source of true strength at this gate,

As we recall the matchless name of the Almighty,

Who may seem to tarry but, indeed, is never late.

May we understand His ways, for we have eyes to see,

As we come to recognize that God is our resource,

While we are striving toward the place of our destiny.

May we not place our trust in a chariot or horse,

Symbolic of authority, worldly goods and power,

But trust in God and not presume to chart our own course.

May we come to know God as our defense, our strong tower,

Our deliverer who knows us by name, the all-wise one,

Who calls us into the Kingdom for this very hour.

God gives power and renews the strength of those who wait.

May we remember the source of true strength at this gate.

I conclude this blog entry with the closing verse from my favorite psalm: Psalm 27:14:

Wait on the Lord, be of courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Here is a magnificent rendition of this verse in song offered by Donnie McClurkin and Karen Clark Sheard:

Even I will carry and will deliver you

 

The Verse of the Day for September 10, 2014 is taken from Isaiah 46:4, rendered in the New King James version:

Even to your old age, I am He,
And even to gray hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

The closing promise that God will deliver me brought to mind a poem composed sometime ago, but it has a timeless message that echoes in my life today:

Just How God Will Deliver Me

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves,

that we should not trust in ourselves,    

but in God which raises the dead:

Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver:    

in whom we trust that he will still deliver us;  

1 Corinthians 1:8-9

 

Just how God will deliver me I do not know,

But of His unfailing love and power I am sure:

He can send a raven and command a widow

To sustain Elijah and all who will endure.

Though He may not be early, God is never late.

I rest in knowing that our Father is faithful,

As I trust Him, learning to labor and to wait.

For each promise fulfilled I am ever grateful

And express my gratitude in word and in deed.

Despite the gross darkness of these perilous times,

Each day I walk by faith wherever Christ may lead,

For grand mountain vistas await the one who climbs.

The hand of God brought me thus far along the way,

And I will finish my course is all I can say.

 

So often in times of distress and discouragement, we call out to God for help. Recently I recall reeling and feeling overwhelmed by the challenges that confronted me on a number of fronts, and I cried out to God, “Lord, help me!” As I reflected upon that particular experience, I thought of one of Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Daily Devotionals that focused on Isaiah 41: 14:

“I will help thee, saith the Lord.”

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help thee.” “It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee; I gave up my life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ‘Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. ‘Help thee?’ Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. ‘I will help thee. ‘”

O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here-thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The Eternal God is thine helper!

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismay’d! I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid.”

The closing line of the devotional comes from the ever popular hymn “How Firm a Foundation”:

In the poem “Protect me,” from a series of teachings entitled “A Five-fold Prayer,” I recognize who God is and what He will do.

 

As a child runs to safety in his father’s arms,

So I, too, run to you, “my shelter from life’s storms.”

Lord, I long to dwell with you in the secret place,

My buckler, my shield, deliverer, my fortress,

Strong tower, defender, who responds to my prayer.

For Lord, you are faithful, who will establish me

And protect me and deliver me from evil.

 

I make reference to God as “My deliverer who knows me by name,” in a poem inspired by series of teachings from Nehemiah related to rebuilding the wall and restoring the gates of Jerusalem:

A Prayer While Waiting at the Horse Gate

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:

but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 20:7

 

 

May I remember the source of true strength at this gate,

As I recall the matchless name of the Almighty,

Who may seem to tarry but indeed is never late.

May I understand His ways, for I have eyes to see,

As I come to recognize that God is my resource,

While ever striving toward the place of my destiny.

 

May I not place my trust in a chariot or horse,

Symbolic of authority, worldly goods and power,

But trust in God and not presume to chart my own course.

 

May I come to know God as my defense, my strong tower,

My deliverer who knows me by name, the all-wise one,

Who calls me into the Kingdom for this very hour.

 

God gives power and renews the strength of those who wait.

May I remember the source of true strength at this gate.

 

I conclude this blog entry with the closing verse from my favorite psalm: Psalm 27:14:

Wait on the Lord, be of courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Here is a magnificent rendition of this verse in song offered by Donnie McClurkin and Karen Clark Sheard:

My deliverer who knows me by name

Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

The Verse of the Day for February 7, 2014 provides comfort found in the Scriptures which proclaim over and over that God delivers those who love Him. The concept of God as a deliverer was the focus in a previous blog entry which is reposted here:

So many times the Verse of the Day seems custom-crafted just for me, as the message speaks directly to my situation. This was the case with the word for September 10, 2013 taken from Isaiah 46:4, rendered in the New King James version:

Even to your old age, I am He,
And even to gray hairs I will carry you!
I have made, and I will bear;
Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

The closing promise that God will deliver me brought to mind a poem composed sometime ago, but it has a timeless message that echoes in my life today:

Just How God Will Deliver Me

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, 

that we should not trust in ourselves,    

but in God which raises the dead:

Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver:    

in whom we trust that he will still deliver us;  

 1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Just how God will deliver me I do not know,

But of His unfailing love and power I am sure:

He can send a raven and command a widow

To sustain Elijah and all who will endure.

Though He may not be early, God is never late.

I rest in knowing that our Father is faithful,

As I trust Him, learning to labor and to wait.

For each promise fulfilled I am ever grateful

And express my gratitude in word and in deed.

Despite the gross darkness of these perilous times,

Each day I walk by faith wherever Christ may lead,

For grand mountain vistas await the one who climbs.

The hand of God brought me thus far along the way,

And I will finish my course is all I can say.

One of Spurgeon’s Daily Devotionals inspired by Isaiah 41:14 ministered to me in a powerful way.

So often in times of distress and discouragement, we call out to God for help. Recently I recall reeling and feeling overwhelmed by the challenges that confronted me on a number of fronts, and I cried out to God, “Lord, help me!”  As I reflected upon that particular experience, I thought of one of Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Daily Devotionals that focused on Isaiah 41: 14:

“I will help thee, saith the Lord.”

This morning let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help thee.” “It is but a small thing for me, thy God, to help thee. Consider what I have done already. What! not help thee? Why, I bought thee with my blood. What! not help thee? I have died for thee; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less? Help thee! It is the least thing I will ever do for thee; I have done more, and will do more. Before the world began I chose thee. I made the covenant for thee. I laid aside my glory and became a man for thee; I gave up my life for thee; and if I did all this, I will surely help thee now. In helping thee, I am giving thee what I have bought for thee already. If thou hadst need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it thee; thou requirest little compared with what I am ready to give. ‘Tis much for thee to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow. ‘Help thee?’ Fear not! If there were an ant at the door of thy granary asking for help, it would not ruin thee to give him a handful of thy wheat; and thou art nothing but a tiny insect at the door of my all-sufficiency. ‘I will help thee. ‘”

O my soul, is not this enough? Dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity? Dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit? Bring hither thine empty pitcher! Surely this well will fill it. Haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here-thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. Behold, this river of God is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? Go forth, my soul, in this thy might. The Eternal God is thine helper!

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismay’d! I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid.”

The closing line of the devotional comes from the ever popular hymn “How Firm a Foundation”:

In the poem “Protect Me,” from a series of teachings entitled “A Five-fold Prayer,” I recognize who God is and what He will do:

 As a child runs to safety in his father’s arms,

So I, too, run to you, “my shelter from life’s storms.”

Lord, I long to dwell with you in the secret place,

My buckler, my shield, deliverer, my fortress,

Strong tower, defender, who responds to my prayer.

For Lord, you are faithful, who will establish me

And protect me and deliver me from evil.

I make reference to God as “My deliverer who knows me by name,” in a poem inspired by series of teachings from Nehemiah related to rebuilding the wall and restoring the gates of Jerusalem:

A Prayer While Waiting at the Horse Gate

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses:

but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 20:7

May I remember the source of true strength at this gate,

As I recall the matchless name of the Almighty,

Who may seem to tarry but indeed is never late.

May I understand His ways, for I have eyes to see,

As I come to recognize that God is my resource,

While ever striving toward the place of my destiny.

May I not place my trust in a chariot or horse,

Symbolic of authority, worldly goods and power,

But trust in God and not presume to chart my own course.

May I come to know God as my defense, my strong tower,

My deliverer who knows me by name, the all-wise one,

Who calls me into the Kingdom for this very hour.

God gives power and renews the strength of those who wait.

May I remember the source of true strength at this gate.

I conclude this blog entry with the closing verse from my favorite psalm: Psalm 27:14:

Wait on the Lord, be of courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.

Here is a magnificent rendition of this verse in song offered by Donnie McClurkin and Karen Clark Sheard: