He Will Deliver Us

“I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
The waves of death swirled about me;
the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called out to my God. (2 Sam. 22:4-7 NIV)

I have watched, from afar and sometimes up close, people who could not navigate their lives according to God’s Word. They were unable to express themselves. Their environments were not only toxic but spiritually dead. They were stagnant. Hurt. Confused. Embarrassed. Bruised. Pained. Double-minded. As God’s children, we need an environment that cultivates the best version of ourselves, continuously. Our lives are intended to be a gradual climb of progress, strength, dignity, and respect; otherwise, we will die where we are planted.

That saying, “Bloom where you are planted,” is correct. You can bloom where you are planted. But I am a firm believer that you can bloom where you are planted only when you are planted by God. This is no shade towards you who have tried to make some things work out, whether a job, a relationship, a marriage, or any other situation you have gotten yourself into. We all have been there. It’s okay to try. But when God says, “Dismount,” then, by all means, jump ship (just make sure it’s really God you are hearing from).

You may struggle to leave a situation. You may wonder, What will the world think? Am I a failure? Why couldn’t I make it in this job more than a year? Why couldn’t I make this relationship/marriage work?

King David, Moses, Joshua, Noahthey’ve all made their fair share of mistakes. Some mistakes were costly. But you know what? They survived. Better yet, they thrived. How so? With God, they still accomplished what God set out for them to do. The same is possible for us. God can work out our mistakes and failures for the better. So it’s okay to let go. It’s okay to say, “This did not work out how I thought it should,” or “I made a mistake,” or even, “I was wrong.”

In the Old Testament, we often get a glimpse of King David singing songs of praise, worship, or crying out to God for help when he’s in danger. David’s relationship with God was so unique that God called him a friend. When David came across a situation where he was either overpowered or not spiritually strong, he sought the aid God. How often do we seek the aid of God, aside from church on Sunday? How often do we take our problems to God, instead of worrying about them until we are worn out and exhausted?

We can learn a lot from David. His life was on recorded in Scripture so that we can take a peek inside it and be inspired. And not just David but almost every person in the Bible has a story that can touch our hearts. Whether a person in the Bible was great, strong, holy, or troubled, each one was called by God to be a living testimony. God was gracious enough to allow their mistakes to work for his good.

You may not need to be delivered from a physical enemy as David needed to be delivered from Saul, but you may need deliverance in an area of your own. Whatever you need deliverance from, God can and will show up for you. We are surrounded by our Enemy, but God can protect us from his fiery darts.

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me. (2 Sam. 22:17–20 NIV)

God has the power and is ready with unconditional love to deliver us from any and all crises. We may not be delivered in the way we want, but God is faithful to deliver us in his time and in his way. As Paul wrote, we can have confidence in God, knowing that his grace is sufficient for us.

Ebony H. Brooks is an author, writer, and businesswoman who was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. and currently resides in North Carolina. She has written three books: Failing Forward into God’s Purpose, What’s Your Fish?: The Story of Jonah, and It Is Time. Her podcast “Let’s Talk: The Journey to Moving Forward” is in its third season and can be heard wherever podcasts are available. She encourages others in the Word of the Lord on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.