God Will Help You, God Will Deliver You

Have you ever felt like the devil has tried to lower you into the pit? I’ve thought about how Jeremiah was lowered into a pit. He hadn’t done anything but be faithful to God and yet here he was being lowered into a pit. Jeremiah 38:6 “So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard….There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.”

Why did that happen to Jeremiah? Why does your life sometimes feel like it’s gone in the pit? Christians sometimes put themselves in that pit. They drift from God for any variety of reasons including sin to slothfulness to discouragement. They don’t “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” instead just drifting to live their own agenda. At first the Holy Spirit speaks to their heart and tries to love and draw them back into what is right, but when their heart becomes hard, they drift too far and can no longer hear Him. Wrong choices are made. Sinful behavior happens drawing painful consequences and life becomes a pit. What’s the solution? Repentance – a turning from sin back to the Lord for His mercy and grace and it being sincere – not just looking for a way out. Only God knows if someone s sincere. If they are, He will help direct their life back to Him. He leads them to find a good church, to read their Bible, and to once again, pray. They will need to get reconnected to passionate believers such as in a small group where they learn and grow together. They will be lead to serve along side of others. If a person truly turns to God, He will lead them back to this path and back to His land of promise for their life.

But what about those like Jeremiah who have been living for the Lord and yet their life has still seemed to have landed in a pit? Why did that happen? If you have been living for the Lord, then you should have grown to the place where you know the enemies devices. 2 Cor. 2:11 says, “…lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Satan is your enemy. He hates all humanity. He is the enemy of all creation because all mankind was created by God. He especially opposes and hates all represent God and live for God even more. If you watch Jesus’ life you will see that Satan was working through men to kill Him His entire existence. Satan used Herod to try and kill Jesus when He was a baby and Satan never stopped trying. Luke 4:29 tells us, “Jumping up, they mobbed Jesus and took Him to the edge of the hill on which the city was built. They intended to push Him over the cliff…” Satan doesn’t like mankind but he hates devout Christians even worse. If he could put your life in the pit he would try.

When Jeremiah was in the pit, there was someone used of God to intercede for Jeremiah. You have someone interceding for you! Jeremiah was taken out of the pit and God wants to take you out of the pit. God wants to deliver you. Jesus paid the price so that you could be delivered. But first you need to know there is someone interceding for you. If you are a Christian, I can almost assure you that there is. First and foremost Jesus is. Hebrews 7:24-25 says, “But Jesus remains a priest forever; His priesthood will never end. Therefore He is able, once and forever, to intercede and save everyone who comes to God through Him. He lives forever to plead with God on their behalf.”If you don’t know someone who is interceding for you – know that I am! I just came from my knees praying for God’s deliverance and blessing for you!

Then pray for yourself. It’s normal and right to pray and stand on God’s Word to be delivered from the pit. King David did. He got himself into the pit more than once. We see his prayers in Psalm 28:1-3 & 6-9 “To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. Do not drag me away with the wicked… Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. The Lord is the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.”

Satan may try to drag us into the pit but we serve a living God who is our deliverer! Psalm 18:17 says, “God delivered me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.” Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” And Psalm 56:13 says, “For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.”

Just like Jeremiah, God has those that are interceding for you. Jesus is for sure and that alone should be enough for any of us to exercise our faith and draw strength in God’s promise of deliverance from the pit. Remember that I am interceding for you and remember that He not only wants to deliver you, put as Psalm 27:5 says, He wants to bring you to a steady and safe and blessed place – upon the rock and promise of His Word and His blessing. “For the Lord will conceal me there when troubles come; He will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt