Songs
of Deliverance
Psalm 32:6-7
For this
shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be
found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt
compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
My Experience, Strength
& Hope
Have you ever really
thought about what this pair of verses is saying? What does it mean to seek God
when He can be found? What do the flood waters represent? And how does He hide
us, preserve us and surround us with songs of deliverance?
These are all very good
questions, and important ones too. We actually discover them through our
experiences in life. The scriptures are not just to be read with our physical
eyes only and skimmed over lightly. They are not to be memorized in our
intellect without applying the deep meaning they are meant to provide. Rather,
they are to be absorbed deep into our soul and spirit. They are to be
experienced and practiced, as the case may be in a given situation. All of them
can be applied to what we go through in our very real day to day lives. How so
you ask?
The morning I wrote
this, I got up at 5:00am and started my day. I thought I had had a good night
of sleep. I had no reason to feel tired. But as I began to move through the
morning I felt like I was very tired, like a person feels when they did not
sleep well. My husband noticed and I told him I was tired but didn’t know why.
After he left for work,
I began to pray and worship the Lord, and I fell into a flood (there’s the
flood part) of tears. I had gone to bed with a joyful heart the previous night
and woke with this song that morning: “Love Lifted Me.” This was a song of
deliverance for me that day. Why did I need to be lifted if I went to bed full
of joy? As I continued in prayer and the tears came, Holy Spirit showed me the
reason for those tears.
As I was seeking the
Lord that morning (seeking Him while He may be found) and not waiting till
later when I would have missed the opportunity, He was able to reveal what was
in my heart. It was as if He were answering the prayer I had prayed for a
previous Bible study in Psalm 32. When I opened my little scripture card box, I
pulled out a verse at random and it had two verses that I will share in this
lesson! They spoke directly to me. There’s no coincidence with God. I
experience stuff like this every single day at my house! God is so awesome.
Though I didn’t think
anything was bothering me, the Lord revealed something that was. As I sat down
to listen to Him, He spoke to my heart. As I cried it out before Him He
reminded me to cast the care of it onto Him – so I did, right then and there. I
literally put my hands up toward heaven and gave the concern to Him. He said He
would help me and I responded by telling Him that I believe Him and thanked Him
for it.
He showed me how to
handle the situation in the meantime and then assured me that He is my
Comforter and I can lavish my love upon Him all I want. Even when others will
not accept our love and affection – Jesus is ready and willing to at all times.
And He wants to lavish us with His love as well.
As far as the songs go,
it is really multi-faceted. He can bring songs to our spirit that will lift us
and deliver us from whatever has been hurting us. The music will reach down
deep into our soul right where the pain is located. That alone is so wonderful.
And, another way we get the deliverance is by singing the songs we are led to
sing in our spirit. He works the deliverance through a song. You may know
exactly what I am talking about.
I believe the important
thing to share with you in this is that no matter what is rising up in the way
of a flood – emotions or concerns, He will hide you (and me) in His safe
shelter. He will deliver us from all fears, worries or concerns as we cast our
cares on to Him. Then we get the inexpressible joy of going through our day in
perfect peace knowing He is making us to dwell (live in) safety. Praise His
name forever. We can let go of whatever is eating at us so we don’t run to
something like food, alcohol or drugs which cannot satisfy and only bring us
despair at the bottom of the cookie jar or bottle.
He really does give us
what He promised in His word. All of His promises are “yes and amen” – see 2 Corinthians 1:20. We just have to
apply His word by faith and reach out and receive it by faith. By faith we
stand! We do not have to see it, smell it or be able to touch it in order for
it to be real. God’s presence, His word and His love works when we apply it to
our lives by faith. It is all about faith. And when we respond to His question,
“Do you believe this?” we can say, “Yes, Lord, I do!” Though we must die to our
flesh (every day), we can know that He is the resurrection of our spirits and
He is our life, hope and help forever – hallelujah!
Friend, my prayer and
heart’s desire is that first and foremost you allow God’s word to work for you
in your life so you can experience all the victory that He has for you. And
lastly, I pray that my experiences that I share with you will be used of the
Lord to help you understand what it really means to apply His word to your own
life. We are all learning and growing every day of our lives. Someone once
said, and I firmly believe it – “If we stop learning, we have stopped living.”
Go ahead! His songs will deliver you! Our God is a mighty Deliverer!
Scriptures from This Message…
Take a look at just a
few examples of how God has delivered His people in perilous times…
·
Noah’s deliverance from
the flood
·
Israel’s deliverance
from the Egyptians and bondage
·
Israel’s deliverance
from the Philistines (Goliath)
·
David delivered from the
hand of King Saul
·
Israel delivered through
Esther – a woman of great courage
·
Through Nehemiah, God’s
people were delivered from the enemy so they could rebuild the wall
·
The town of Nineveh was
delivered through Jonah (when he stopped rebelling against the Lord!) I can
relate to this.
· Paul was delivered
numerous times from the hand of the enemy while he was out there preaching the
gospel – these are just a few of many such stories in the Bible
Philippians 1:19-21
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your
prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest
expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all
boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether
it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Isaiah 43:1-2
But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have
redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest
through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Psalm 27:5
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the
secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Acts 16:25
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and
the prisoners heard them.
Ephesians 5:17-21
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
How do we cast our cares upon the Lord? Hand em
over saints, just hand em over! This is a “stick up!” LOL! Stick your hands up
toward heaven and say, here You go Lord, I’m giving this stuff to You - I can’t
handle it.”
1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the
glory of God by us.
Now It’s Your Turn – Answer the Following
Questions:
·
Are you seeking God
about things that are bothering you?
·
Will you allow the tears
to come when they need to and remember that the Lord will not let the floods in
this life overtake you?
·
Will you trust Him now
more than ever to hide you and preserve you from trouble as you delight
yourself in Him?
·
Do you know in your
heart that Jesus has already bought and paid for your deliverance? That’s
right. All you have to do is receive it by faith.
·
Allow your words and
your songs to line up with Holy Spirit and the word of God and the deliverance
will come. The peace will come. The trouble will fade away. Finally, the joy
will come.
·
Read Isaiah 61 this week
and meditate on it along with the scriptures provided in this lesson.
·
Write your thoughts and
revelations about this week’s message.
·
How do you see it
changing your thinking?
·
What will you do
differently because of what you learned?
**If you would like to join our weekly call, please send an email to the following:
The3rdJohn2Program@yahoo.com
Be blessed!
Hanny Stearns
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