I find myself in prayer asking for the LORD to take action and deliver me. I find myself in circumstances that are weighing me down and in need of resolution and deliverance from those circumstances. I also find myself asking for things from the LORD and waiting on Him to do provide those things.
“12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” – Exodus 12:12-13 (ESV)
Reading this morning of the Passover, I am reminded that sometimes it is the no action of the LORD that is the action He intends. You see, the people placed blood on the doorposts and lintel so that the LORD would pass over their houses and not deliver the plague of death to their home. The LORD would pass by and move on to the next house as He was delivering action to the land of Egypt.
Remember that time that you were late to work only to find that there was an accident that happened about two minutes ahead of you on the road. Or that time that you missed out on going to an event to find out later that the event was not what you expected it to be. Or that time when you were delayed and not able to make a purchase to find that the exact funds for the purchase were able to cover a debt completely.
The LORD provides in many ways for us. We may ask for things and expect that He will deliver those things in our idea of how they should be delivered, when in fact He delivers without taking action. The Israelite people were spared in the Passover thanks to their obedience to the LORD. He did not take action and delivered them from the circumstance befalling on Egypt.
I have to remember that I should continue to ask the LORD to deliver me. But I also have to remember that His deliverance may just be that He is taking no action.
What is your expectation of deliverance? Are you finding yourself seeking to be delivered in just they way you imagine? What if you simply asked for deliverance and opened yourself to the LORD and His deliverance, even when He takes no action?
Trevor's Thoughts 