"You're Delivered, But Are You Free?" (Part 1 of 2) | The Worshipper's Thought of the Day

So often we hear the phrase "delivered and set free," and--I must admit--that it sometimes comes across as rehearsed and contrived, at best.  We HEAR testimonies of deliverance, but fail to SEE the freedom.  If the truth be told, many people who claim they've been delivered never experience freedom.  They pray and cry out for GOD's help; and when He comes through on their behalf, His power literally snatches them out of the situation they're in but they shortly thereafter find themselves right back where they were (Nehemiah 9:26-29).  What we must understand is that deliverance is instantaneous, whereas freedom is a process; just as salvation happens instantly and sanctification is produced over a period of time (1 John 3:2).

As I've gotten older and have matured more in the things of GOD, I've started to believe that GOD delivers us from situations and circumstances so we can embark upon a journey to freedom.  It's this journey, if you will, that transforms us to the intent that those inward issues initially responsible for our "bondage experience" be destroyed forever.  I guess what I'm saying is this: We seek GOD to INSTANTLY DELIVER us from that which must be PROGRESSIVELY DESTROYED.  Deliverance is merely a battle within the war of freedom.  For instance, GOD delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians instantly, but it took 40 years to eradicate the rebellion that prevented manifestation of the purpose for which they had been delivered.  Their rebellion kept them from entering into the Land of Promise in as short as 40 days after their deliverance because it ultimately took 40 years to rid Israel of an entire generation of grumbling complainers.

There's bound to be a huge disconnect when a person wants instantly what can only come via a process.  News Flash: GOD is not going to deliver us from our habits, desires, inclinations, affections, urges,  or whatever else we wish to call them because these are actually internal issues from which we must be freed.  The deliverance we experience is from the situations and circumstances that are the result of our issues-influenced behavior, not the internal issues themselves.  One could maybe better understand it this way: deliverance is motivated by the bondage of external circumstances, whereas freedom is motivated by the bondage of internal issues.  Therefore, freedom requires a renewing of the mind.  Deliverance can be something as simple as GOD supernaturally providing the money to instantly pay off a burdensome debt, such as a credit card account, in full--we're talking CLEAN SLATE, ZERO BALANCE here.  Freedom, then, is taking on the renewed mindset of better managing one's financial health so the situation of mounting debt, from which a person was delivered, occurs no more.  However, in the case of this indebtedness as well as other forms of bondage, if deliverance were to motivate a person to once again commence exercising the SAME FOOLISHLY NEGLIGENT, REBELLIOUS BEHAVIOR that put them in bondage beforehand, then it's quite clear that they're NOT free.

Thanks for reading today's post.  You're invited to come back on tomorrow for the conclusion of the matter!  Feel free to leave your comments and feedback.  I certainly look forward to hearing from you.