December 8, 2021
Delivered From and Delivered For
Kelly Balarie
Today’s Truth
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT).
Friend to Friend
Many of us want to move forward, but we feel stuck. We want to inch ahead, but we feel immovable. We want to change, but we can’t seem to.
Why?
Outlook is everything. Just think…
Say there is a princess… An enemy force captures her and relegates her to the dungeon in her own castle. This woman, forgetting who she is, eventually gets out of the dungeon. But, even though she feels relief at getting out, all she can do is slump against the near wall and wait for someone to come. She won’t go forward because she fears what is ahead. Her mind still insists she’s stuck, so she stays where she is.
If, on the other hand, this princess remembers she is a princess. If she remembers her dad is: The Father and The King. If she remembers who He says she is – loved, chosen and blameless in Christ. If she trusts Him by faith to take care of her existing pain – then, she will not be beholden to the attack. She will leave behind the bars that kept her and immediately run – back to her Father. She will understand she hasn’t only been delivered from the dungeon, but she’s been delivered to the King and all the great feasts he is famous for.
Of course, this doesn’t take away from what she went through, although she trusts her Father’s words to heal her heart. She believes He is greater than anything she has faced.
Likewise, God is bigger than anything we have faced…
We haven’t just been delivered from darkness, we’ve been delivered to something greater: The King and His Kingdom. Continually, God delivers us from one thing and to another…
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…” (Colossians 1:13 NIV).
We are delivered from darkness and delivered to a greater kingdom of light.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT).
We are delivered from fear and delivered to power, love, and self-discipline.
“…so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18 NLT).
We are delivered from darkness, delivered to forgiveness and an inheritance.
God saved us from the penalty of sins and is saving us still from the power of sin. One day we will be free from the presence of sin! e Until then, we don’t have to sit right outside our dungeon. Indeed, this is amazing grace, good news and worthy of praise. God saves.
We aren’t just being delivered from something horrible, we are being delivered to something greater…
As I think of my story, I realize, I wasn’t just delivered from insecurity and fear, I was delivered to boldness and courage. I wasn’t just delivered from the fact that I couldn’t write, I was delivered to being an author.
Grace is always leading us to something greater. We are delivered from and delivered to. Our God saves and restores.
Those who have been set free, set others free. Those delivered from poverty, help deliver others from poverty. Those delivered from injustice, help bring justice to others. This is the beauty of the Kingdom of God.
Hope always lurks beyond our darkness. Faith meets us as we take a step. Love pours out as we trust God to work through us.
Like the princess we must remember: who we are and Whose we are.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, I thank You. I thank You for saving me. I thank You for Your love for me. I thank You that You care for me. I am not stuck. I am loved by You. I am chosen by You. I am called by You. Please help me to get out of my own mind and thoughts and into Your hope and grace. You do have a plan for me. I ask for all the grace and hope I need to do Your will, in all ways, at all times. I trust You. And, where I need faith, I ask for more. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What have you been saved from?
What may God be delivering you to?
Many are finding renewed hope and faith from Kelly’s weekly email messages. Join in and get biblical, soul-filling encouragement and tips from Kelly Balarie via email. Or, check out her new book, “Rest Now: 7 Ways to Say No, Set Boundaries and Seize Joy”, on Amazon or via Baker Books.
© 2021 by Kelly Balarie. All rights reserved.
Originally published Wednesday, 08 December 2021.
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