Delivered.

Delivered? Strange word really. Used to really kind of freak me out actually. The first time i heard it was 10 yrs ago at a recovery group meeting for people struggling with addictions. I remember several people were giving testimonies of how they met Christ and were immediately delivered of their addictions. Well, let me say that i was perplexed (that could of been the drugs as well) because i was not immediately feeling any kind of deliverance from my drug addiction. So i, like a 6yr old pledging to not eat my carrots, always kind of had a bad taste in my mouth when it came up. Real mature i know. Then there were other times i'd be around people who would kind of throw that word around like-i'm in deliverance ministry. My response was probably something like "great, good for you" Too afraid that if i asked exactly what that meant they would want to somehow deliver me. That seemed scary. lol Praise Him that He makes the foolish wise.
So why all this scary(lol) talk about deliverance? I found out its actually quite encouraging and beautiful. duh. In my Bible study a couple weeks ago (Beth Moore-To live is Christ) I was reading 2Tim 3:10-11 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.
According to my definition of deliver, i would have to disagree. Remembering of course that i never asked what it meant, didn't want to know, which makes me again foolish. See in Acts 14:6 Paul was in Iconium & he escaped being stoned. However in Acts 14:19 Paul was in Lystra and there was no escaping, they stoned him and dragged him outside the city gates because they thought he was dead. Yet Paul says he was delivered from both. (I am currently reminded of my friend Adrienne saying "wait for it, Lori, wait for it" as i was figuring out the amazingly crazy ending to The Village, very dramatic moment, i'm not easy to surprise) Are you even still reading? Okay, so here is the fun part. Rhuomai. I know isn't it great.Rhuomai is the original word for delivered in 2Tim 3:11 it means "to drag along the ground, to draw or snatch from danger, to rescue, deliver-more with the meaning of drawing to oneself than merely rescuing from someone or something " Hallelujah! I have often joked that my Christian walk has been more of a crawl, apparently i was not even crawling but being "dragged along the ground" God doesn't always stop the stoning, the unemployment, the foreclosure, the divorce, the cancer, the jail sentence, the loss of a loved one, the IRS, the physical pain & suffering, the rebellious child, he doesn't always release us immediately from a bondage to drugs, alcohol, food, fear, insecurity...what He does is He draws us closer to Himself. God is relentless with us, we must persevere to know Him, to love Him. To trust that no matter how we mess up or how long we've been dragging He works all things out according to His purpose. Jesus as you draw us close to You help us to press into You, Your Word, Your ways. Help us to remember we are never alone, nothing is beyond repair when we know the Creator, You have a plan for each of us we just have to wait for it!