How to react if deliverance doesn't come when we think we need it
By Dean Collins
If there is no tension or uncertainty in the story, it usually doesn’t hold our attention. We like to imagine how the hero will overcome the evil empire or villain they face. When we think things can go either way, the suspense keeps us engaged.
Some verses in Proverbs just declare how things will resolve. For instance Proverbs 11:8 opens: “The righteous is delivered from trouble.” Pretty straightforward. Many like things just spelled out simply: one plus one always equals two. I suspect you have noticed that life sometimes gives us the straightforward and easy equation, and other times there is great suspense and complexity and the outcome is unknown.
The last half of Proverbs 11:8 says this: “And the wicked walks into it instead.” Now there is tension. The righteous one is delivered from trouble, but the wicked walks into it instead. But when? Will the righteous avoid every trouble without harm or scars? Will the wicked always walk into trouble? How long before they do? Immediately? Sometime tomorrow? Eventually?
Hero moments or hard journey?
Like you, I sometimes have trouble for a long time before deliverance appears. And sometimes it seems the wicked walk away from trouble and not into it. They appear to disappear unharmed or even gloat and brag about the trouble they created! Did the wise writer of Proverbs get something wrong? I don’t think so. It’s more likely that we fall into the temptation of thinking that the promises of scripture always mean instant success for the righteous.
We tend to remember the hero moments and forget the agonizing journey:
David was on the run from Saul and spent more than a year working with the Philistines.
Job’s story—almost all of it—is suffering over a long period of time.
Moses spent decades in the wilderness until he got to see the Promised Land only from a distance but didn’t get to enter.
Joshua went from the pit to slavery to favor to prison and was forgotten for a few years before finally being remembered and elevated.
And what about the suffering of the prophet Jeremiah?
Many Bible heroes and characters didn’t get delivered as easily as Proverbs 11:8 seems to suggest. And likewise, there are many kings and characters who enjoyed a lot of prosperity and avoided much suffering until they didn’t.
Difficulty before deliverance
The wise king must not have meant that deliverance from trouble will always occur in every situation, and certainly there isn’t a promise of instant victory. Even our Savior Jesus endured great suffering, even execution, before his resurrection moment. Sometimes suffering includes death before deliverance finally comes. But when it comes, it is complete, eternal, and more than we can ever ask or imagine.
There are and will be times when the righteous live and see deliverance. There will also be times when the wicked walk right into their own trap. Think Hamon in the Esther story or those who tried to trick the king into having Daniel killed and ended up as cat food.
The Proverbs are filled with wisdom and truth. The principles are reliable because God is trustworthy and keeps every promise. We will have moments of victory that we see and enjoy. And sometimes our deliverance comes later. Sometimes the wicked get their just reward for their misdeeds quickly and other times eventually.
The bigger narrative
We often do not see or understand the bigger narrative God is writing. What we can be sure of is that God is not a God of cruelty but rather a God of love, mercy, and grace. He is faithful every day. He will not abandon us but will support us through every difficult and painful time.
When we are in the midst of trouble we lean on the promises of God. We offer our struggles as offerings back to God who will receive them, bless them, and turn them into victory and deliverance in due time. When we surrender to Jesus in our good times and our hard times, we will see lives changed, communities restored, and even whole cities rejoicing.
Lord, we struggle with wanting to see our suffering and the suffering of those we love end quickly. We don’t understand why some who do evil seem to get away even experiencing some sort of reward. We bow before you and surrender the things we do not understand, including your timeline. Accept our surrender of the outcomes in every situation to your loving hands. Change us from the inside out so that our attitudes and behaviors might reflect Jesus in every way. Use us and our situations for your glory now and forever.
Amen
Your time with God’s Word
Proverbs 11:8-11 ESV
Photo by Warren Wong via unsplash.com
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