“Delight In The Lord’s Deliverance” 

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb! May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.(Ps. 126:1-6)

As we look around today we see much suffering. We see  friends suffering with sickness, the death of loved ones, disappointments, betrayals and sorrows; we see our nation and the world being battered like a small boat in a hurricane. We see the church under attack from within and without. 

Yet in Christ, it seems that the greater the sorrow endured, the greater the joy that follows. It seems that those who have suffered the most reap with the greatest joy. We just read the Book of Tobit… what great sorrow did Tobit & Anna, and Tobiah & Sarah experience… yet the joy of their deliverance was even greater. “When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around him and wept….“Blessed be God and praised be his great name, and blessed be all his holy angels. May his holy name be praised throughout all the ages, because it was he who scourged me, and it is he who has had mercy on me….then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice for everything that had happened. (Tobit 11:5-17)  The greatness and joy and surprise of the resurrection was even greater because of the overwhelming sacrifice and sorrow and disappointment of the crucifixion.  

When we are mired in great sorrow and disappointment by the latest trial we have been dealt…sickness and loss, betrayal, maybe even death… we can look to the horizon where we will see the glimmer and hope of our deliverance. Our hope of  deliverance will not rest in the latest strategy of our brilliant mind and work, but the “new day” will rest in the hands of our savior Jesus Christ, who alone brings true hope, and true deliverance. 

So we need to have hope in the Lord. Christ will have the last word for each of us. Our deliverance may not show up in the next 15 minutes or 15 years. But in Christ it will show up at exactly the perfect time. Our hope is in the Lord who made heaven and earth. And that is very good news.