A Love That Surrounds

A Love That Surrounds 

This morning I awoke and remembered those on my heart to pray for and particularly one because of health problems.  As I sat down to study my daily lesson my mind was filled with my many concerns.  Then I looked down and saw the title and put away my morning journal-ling and moved on to the lesson.

Psalm 34:17 -22

 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸ The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. ²⁰ He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. ²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. ²² The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.   Footnote here desolate or guilty according to commentary.

Reading this with a perspective as a victim or one facing health problems, one who reads this particular lesson and claim these promises of deliverance, must surely remember all things work together…all scripture also is inspired and knits together truth into one garment  To try and remove one piece would be to unravel the knitted garment.

Because  I have left my personal perspective and gone to the heart of another matter, that pain and suffering of my friend, comes to mind. In Daniel when the three Hebrew children were to be cast into the fire immediately entered my particular train of thought.

Daniel 3:16b and 17, 18. O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. ¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand O king.

Jeremiah 29:11-13  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ¹² Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. ¹³ And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Because of an experience so recent is fresh on my mind, I can assure anyone that He will give us His expected end in a matter, and even though it may not be the one we want; when we are delivered it will bring joy and peace.  In spite of whether we are delivered from, delivered through or delivered by our Just and Righteous God, it will be for our good, just as He said it would in Romans 8:28 and 29. The lesson included Acts 14:22,23 concerning being delivered.  We are not promised we will be delivered from tribulation without having to go through it in some fashion.  We are just told to continue in the faith. 

Acts 14:22

  ²²Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. 

The promise is that we will be delivered, we are surrounded by God, we are surrounded by His angels.  This is a promise but there are conditions to deliverance.  A broken and contrite heart, one whom seeks God with all their heart, one that is righteous (knowing that only when Christ lives in us are we righteous because of His righteousness).

Whether our crisis is health or conflict it would do us well to remember the time He delivered us, so that when the next crisis arrives that we might remember the pain, agony, confusion, anger, doubt, and then remember those words in Jeremiah and seeking the Lord with all our hearts will truly bring about an expected end. Maybe not the one we wanted or expected, but the one God expected.

I personally believe each conflict, each deliverance, each victory gives us a more mature faith and if we are in His will we will see and remember His faithfulness, mercy and grace that was given to us at that particular time in our lives.  Then we will be stronger and have more faith to deal with the current trial.  But most of all we will know the Lord a little more personally, because we have put our trust in Him and sought Him for answers and watched as He worked the miracle in our life.  Truly He is worthy to be praised in the good times and the bad times. 

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth