Deliverance

The prophet Joel says, in the context of an “end times prophecy” – “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered…” [Joel 2:32]. Peter quotes this same word from Joel in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:21 – again, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be delivered…”. Then, Paul, in Romans, at the end of that great and powerful and mysterious section on Jew and Gentile coming together in the plan of God [Romans 9-11] – “…there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be delivered.” [Romans 10:12-13]

Both yesterday and today, I have contemplated the power of these words. If they are not true, then they are ridiculous. But if they ARE true – then whoever I am – Jew or Greek or male or female or leper or thief or murderer or king or queen or prostitute or swindler or heterosexual or homosexual or Democrat or Republican or Communist or Socialist…and wherever I am – on a mountaintop or in a valley, secure or afraid, depressed or elated, sick or well, married or divorced or single, lonely or not so lonely, employed or unemployed, childless or with many children, money in the bank or destitute, sober or drunk or high…if I will simply call on the name of the Lord, I will be delivered!

Think about it – either it’s true, or it’s not true. It can’t be sort of true. Of course, I don’t get to say what “deliverance” looks like. And for me, therein lies the rub. I want to control my own destiny. I want to call on the name of the Lord and have Him deliver me according to MY definition of deliverance. That we do not get to do – or God would not be God. We would be God and could deliver our own darn selves. But if we are willing to trust that God is our Abba Father, that He knows all, that He is outside of history and sees the end from the beginning, that He loves us with an everlasting love and wants only the ultimate best for us…it seems to me that today, whoever we are and wherever we are and whatever state we find ourselves in – it would be a good thing to call on the name of the Lord. Then, as you go about your business, doing whatever it is you need to do to be obedient to Him – watch…and wait…for His deliverance. His deliverance will come…because He has promised.