DELIVER US FROM EVIL

The wonder of deliverance is so hard to describe. It is a revolution of what goes on inside. One moment you are held in chains you don’t know how to break; And then a sort of miracle allows you to forsake, The thing which had a grip on you with bonds as strong as death Then suddenly you’ve been set free! It makes you catch your breath! Perhaps the best example that has been known to date, Is how two million Israelites completely changed their fate. One instant they were Pharaoh’s slaves, the next they were set free, And they escaped from Egypt and all they’d known to be. At first there was a struggle with the Egyptian gods; But they were all defeated for God had fixed the odds. The Lord had come to save them and lead them to the land, That none of them had ever seen outside Egyptian sands. The Lord had sent them Moses; that great prophet of old. I’m going to lead you out of here is what they all were told. And since he had the backing of God who reigns on high, Those who observed the Passover saw Egypt’s firstborn die. God opened up the Red Sea so they could walk straight through. When Pharaoh’s army followed them, they saw what God could do. All of the Egyptians were quickly swept away, When God restored the waters and they all died that day. Of course this was dramatic and since that well known date, The Lord has brought deliverance and changed the people’s fate. He did it with the Judges and many of the Kings. He brought them back from Babylon as though on Eagle’s wings. He saw them build the temple and then the city walls. He saw them when His only Son began life in a stall. He saw them when they crucified and laid Him in the tomb. He saw them when He rose again and smashed that darkened gloom. And each one was deliverance. When God set people free, And each one in a special way, an opportunity; For men to be delivered. Perhaps His best known prayer; He taught to His disciple and Christians everywhere. “Deliver us from evil”. Oh Lord, that’s what we need. Unless You Lord deliver us then evil will succeed. But this one thing is certain and absolutely sure; He still brings His deliverance when we seek to be pure! Jim Strickland – written Thursday, 11 August 2011