Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. Unedited. The prompt this week is …Â Escape.
Escape … “to slip or get away; to slip away from or elude (pursuers, captors, etc.); to succeed in avoiding (any threatened or possible danger or evil)” (from dictionary.com).
In Scripture we are told of many who were able to elude danger or succeed in avoiding danger.
Noah did not drown in the flood.
Moses avoided Pharoah’s decree of death.
God’s people were spared the plagues which came upon Egypt.
David escaped his enemies numerous times.
Daniel survived the lion’s den.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fiery furnace.
Paul endured dangers, beatings, imprisonments, and stonings numerous times.
John was exiled to the island of Patmos.
Thinking of these, and many more, the question comes to mind: Did they escape or were they delivered?
“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” (Psalm 18:2a, NASB)
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19, NASB)
“How different. If one waits for God’s own time and looks to Him for help and deliverance! When at last help comes, after many hours of prayer and after much faith and patience, how sweet it is! What a reward the soul receives for trusting in God and waiting patiently for His deliverance!” (George Muller)
Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash
Today I may be joining …
You’ve given me reason to pause, consider, and praise this morning Ms. Joanne. Reading your powerful post caused me to pause and consider all the ways that God has proven Himself faithful to me and in protecting me. I thought about the accidents I’ve avoided. The words that have caught in my throat and were never venomously verbalized. The times when my arms were constrained so that I did not lash out in anger. And the times, like this morning, when circumstances conspire to overwhelm me that I seek His peace and He comes even closer. God’s blessings ma’am. I pray too that He is your rock and your fortress this day.
Exactly, J.D. I thought of all the things, even unbeknownst to me maybe, where the Lord has kept me from harm. And yes (!), He delivers me from myself so often. Praying for you, friend, that the Lord would deliver you from the circumstances you face today.
Hello! I’m your FMF link-up neighbor. This was my first time joining, and I love what you wrote in just 5 minutes. What a thought-provoking question you asked: escaped or delivered? As Christians, we believe that everything is orchestrated by God for our good and His glory. Even if we “escape,” it is always really God delivering us, isn’t it.
Exactly, Leah. As I posed that question to myself, I realized when we see ourselves as escaping, we give ourselves credit for the action. When we see ourselves as being delivered, God receives the honor. It’s been thought provoking this morning 🙂
Each time I thought I got away
with a crime, or a good deed,
in my pride I’d always say
I lived up to that time of need,
but now, I’m not so really sure
that this paradigm is true;
perhaps, maybe the only cure
was a subconscious trust in You?
What do You think, God, does this sound
like the actions You might take?
Have I here found solid ground?
Can I go from being fake
to being humble as I can
while still being the Marlboro Man?
Did they escape or were they delivered? A powerful question to ponder! God opens the gate so we can “escape” from our own ways and be delivered by His grace!
It’s amazing how the two words blend and are at work in our lives.
Indeed! A great question. Do we escape or are we rescued! What a marvelous deliverer we know personally. Thank you for writing and sharing today.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and the Biblical examples. I love your perspective!
I’m so thankful for God’s deliverance and your reminder, Joanne. Blessings.
good question: Escape or Deliverance. Changes your perspective a bit eh? FMF15
Fascinating thought – deliverance is God’s intervention, escape is my own! May be sometimes He suggests an escape? Thank you, Joanne.