Here are some excerpts from Beth Moore's book, "Get out of that Pit" - from chapter seven, entitled, "Waiting on God for Deliverance." It has been amazing to me recently how God has spoken so clearly and directly to me through His Word and through some of the books I have been reading. This was one of those times, and I'm sharing this in case there's anyone else out there who needs to hear it...
"God can deliver the most hardened criminal or the most hopeless addict in one second flat. With His eyes closed and His hands tied behind His back if He has a mind to. I know people who made themselves at home in a pit a hundred feet deep and a thousand days long and, seemingly without warning, experienced the instantaneous deliverance of God. One moment they were in the throes of habitual sin, and the next moment they were free as birds...
But I have not one time experienced it. Let me say that again. Not one time. Not even an instantaneous deliverance from something comparatively shallow like a mini-pit of some kind I dug with a soupspoon instead of a shovel. I won't even be heel deep, and still, I'll rarely walk away without a fight.
For example, a sudden season of fear may overtake me. Out of thin air, all at once I'll get a notion that something is up with one of my loved ones or that a close relationship is threatened in some way. Sometimes I'm right. Other times I made it up. I just don't know it yet. Depending on what kind of vain imaginations are circling like vultures in my brain, I'll begin to feel anxious, insecure, or intimidated. In my rational mind I may know the fear is unfounded. Even ridiculous. Still, at times I'll let it get to me until it has a grip on me.
I'm not a glutton for punishment. Goodness knows I volunteer for instant deliverance the second I realize I'm wigging. I try to pray and say all the right things, like, "Lord, starting today I never want to think that way about that situation (or person) again. Forgive me and free me of this in Jesus' name. I know You can deliver me. Please do. And, if I may humbly ask, right this second." And next thing you know, all those vain imaginations invade in my mind again. They're all I can think about. So God and I have to get back to work.
The process may last a few days, a few weeks, or I may hop from dot to dot in what feels like an eternal etcetera. But I can think of virtually nothing God has delivered me from overnight. When it comes to high maintenance, I put the "I" in high and the ten in maintenance. I've joked with my coworkers that when my life is over, the most fitting epitaph etched into my gravestone would probably be, "God got tired....
I'm telling you, God and I work hard together. Maybe you consume a fair amount of divine energy yourself and , if so, perhaps we could sift some mutual encouragement out of the aggravation of never doing anything easily. I've come to the elementary conclusion that, to God,
together is the whole point of any process. Before man was created, God just said something and it happened. "Let there be light" and all. He could still do that. Sometimes still does. But you might notice that a lot of that instantaneous action ceased after man came along, and obviously on God-purpose. Suddenly God wasn't so sudden. Time become the vehicle for this wonderful thing called history. You could neither rush it nor slow it. All you could do was ride it. And, what a ride it was for all those who preceded us.
What a ride it is for us now. God etched history not on lands and nations but on human lives. Not on superhumans. Not even on particularly impressive humans. God seems to summon the most faithless of all to faith. He's a magnet to weakness, perhaps the ultimate proof that opposites really do attract. History is told through the encounters and experiences of men and women God would call to know Him. To trust Him, often under nearly impossible circumstances. People prone to wander, prone to bruising, prone to doubting, prone to losing...
I think God often ordains a wait because He purely enjoys the togetherness of it....
Smooth living invariably, eventually, makes for sloppy spirituality. I want consuming fire to rage in my soul, and if it's got to come through fiery trial, so be it...
The good news is we may have to wait for deliverance while the vehicle of time jolts and lurches, but we never have to wait on God Himself. Never have to wait to enjoy His Presence or be reassured of His love...
Despite appearances, huge things happen as you wait upon the Lord to deliver you from that pit. They begin the moment you cry out.
(Jenifer interludes to say this next part is what really was huge to me...)If your eyes could only see how God is moving all those chess pieces around the board for maximum impact, it would blow your mind. He's up to something big that affects not only you, but those around you. He's also after those around you...God's agenda is not just to deliver you from the pit. His preeminent aim is to bring Himself fame, and you are one way He has chosen to do it. Anticipate it!..."
