“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.” -Psalm 27:5-6

God is the God of deliverance, in the grand picture and in the everyday. King David boasts in what the Lord will do for him because the shepherd king belongs to the Shepherd King. He is hidden in the Lord, safe for all eternity and nothing can separate God from His beloved children. God is too powerful, too loving and fatherly to not protect and provide. He has protected every elect sinner from eternal Hell, by providing a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The beasts of Hell will not prevail, seen and unseen, God’s enemies cannot win. Their doom is sure because it is promised in Scripture (Romans 16:20).

The Lord has won every believing soul for His glory and our eternal good. None will be lost who belong to Him. The God of grace and mercy has delivered Christians from certain, endless death, into the freedom of forgiveness and fellowship with Him forever. There isn’t anything greater than that last sentence. The kingdom of darkness will make gains here on earth, but it cannot have you, dear Christian, who belong to something better and true. You are part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation in which God has promised to be your Refuge now, until we go Home.

God is actively at work delivering His people until that time, sanctifying each one for when we go to the Land of the Living. He has delivered our souls from death, continuing to keep our feet from slipping so that we do not destroy the faith He has given us, as Satan would have it. The trials we are allowed to endure are opportunities to humble and grow the Christian in faith. The Lord rescues us at just the right time, but not a minute before. He is never late, never off duty, never asleep or apathetic toward His own. And why? God Almighty is zealous for His Name, His Glory. He must be exalted because Yahweh is the Creator of everything. The Lord is not vain, vindictive or a wimp, and He will not be mocked.

Deliverance for His chosen people will come because God has ordained it so, just as He has ordained all of your days on earth. Every soul that is His will be kept by the Lord of the living. Trouble, enemies, even sin cannot thwart God’s plan. His providence rules as He orchestrates man’s will alongside it. This mystery is the believer’s confidence that we serve a sovereign, sinless God who is also our defense, deliverer and Father. King David declares future promises of God in the middle of present danger. The believer can also look ahead out of the current circumstances and fix their eyes on King Jesus. Keeping an eternal perspective while enjoying temporal blessings or enduring the storms of life is the key to navigating the pilgrim way. God will be glorified and we will praise Him for it.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18; Ephesians 6:10-18;