A Tender Deliverer!

February 2, 2023

A Tender Deliverer!

My youngest brother never liked the old movie, “The Wizard Of Oz.”  I remember watching the movie when he was four or five years old.  At the moment the wicked witch dumped out to scare Dorothy, he ran to the television, turned it off, and left the room. 

My brother was certain the mean old witch with her cackling laugh was going to hurt Dorothy.  And, he was convinced her three friends were not going to be of much help. 

A four- or five-year-old boy knew better than the rest of us that there are things in life that can hurt us and even destroy us.  When he could see no one to deliver Dorothy, he turned off the television.

Unfortunately, we cannot turn off our life when there are hard things happening to us.  We need someone to deliver us when we can no longer deliver ourselves.

Here is the sixth attribute of the character of God; the Lord God is our tender deliverer. 

In Psalm 91:11-13 we hear; “For he (Lord God) will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.  You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.”

When we are about to stumble badly, when we are about to fall on our face, and when awful things threaten to hurt us, the Lord God is our tender deliverer.  Even things like “lions and tigers and bears” about which Dorothy sings in “The Wizard Of Oz” will not destroy us.

The Psalm reminds us that the Lord God will send His angels to bear us up, to deliver us through, and to set us free.  The Lord God will be our tender deliverer.

I had a dream of spending most of my ministry as a pastor serving at one church.  I was well along in that goal when something very unexpected happened.  My Bishop asked me to move to another church.  I was devastated because I believed my dream was God-breathed.

Suddenly, it felt like I was vulnerable in ways I had never imagined.  I was sad and angry.  I was afraid and confused.  I was doubting myself and doubting Jesus.  My dream was broken because of another person’s decision.

I did not know what to do or who to trust.  The “lions and tigers and bears” were seeming to win.  The lions and snakes about which the Psalmist wrote were getting the best of me.  I had forgotten the Lord God is my tender deliverer. 

I learned that the Lord God is often tender when He delivers us.  During that season of life, I needed the Lord’s tenderness as much as I needed the Lord’s deliverance.  Jesus held me with powerful and gentle hands.  Jesus listened with divine wisdom and with deep compassion.  Jesus led me with strong resolve and with a loving heart.

Although I could not see it at the time, the next season of my ministry produced amazing (unbelievable!) fruit. 

People came to faith in Jesus for the first time. 

Believers discovered a much deeper faith in Jesus. 

People led children and teen-agers to faith in Jesus. 

The Kingdom of God was advanced in unimaginable ways. 

A church was revived and a community was inspired. 

None of these things would have ever happened through me until I allowed the Lord God to be my tender deliverer.  When I was afraid and fragile, Jesus sent His angels to guard me in all my ways, to lift me up when I had fallen, and to lead me to the place He wanted me to be.

My heart is still filled with delight in the Lord God my tender deliverer.  I invite you to look to the Lord as your tender deliverer today. 

Let the angels hold you and guard you. 

Let the Spirit guide you and strengthen you. 

Let Jesus guide your steps through a land-mine of disappointment and discouragement. 

You, too, will find your heart filled with delight in the Lord.   

Doug

Take Delight In The Lord!

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