My Deliverer…

I had a conversation with a young man last night that really made me think.

Jason is 30 years old and has suffered dibiltating headaches for five years. He’s lost his job, his social life and a lot of friends. And yet, he told me, he was very reluctant to come here to MHNI. “Why is that?”, I asked him. He paused for a moment and said, “This (one hand waving around his head) is what I have come to know. It is what I have come to be. ‘Jason with the headaches’. What if they find out what is wrong with me and I become, ‘Jason with a tumor’ or ‘Jason with cancer’?

As I lay in bed last night, I thought about what Jason said and found myself thinking about the Israelites. How reluctant they were to leave Egypt, even though they were slaves to the Pharoah.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” –Exodus 14:10

The Israelites were so afraid of the unknown that they were favored staying captive to the Egyptians rather than follow the path that God laid out for them.
I’m sure this is something we can all relate to in varying degrees. Our circumstances so often become what we know; what we are familiar with. It makes it difficult to move, to change, even for something we know is better for us. The muck that keeps our feet from moving is what we know and in its own way, is comfortable. What will I be when I am no longer _______________________?
We know that Jesus can give us the peace and security we so desperately desire…but sometimes stepping from the dark into the light is scary. In the dark, we can hide our flaws, our imperfections. But in the light, everything is made known. To come to Jesus is to reveal all; our hurts, our doubts, our shame, our grief.
But if you have ever had a sunburn and used aloe, you can kind of understand the power of Christ. You apply the aloe and the relief is immediate. It may not last; you may have to apply it again and again. But each time, the relief you seek is there.

So you handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies. –Nehemiah 9:27

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xYvBTd58xw

My Deliverer by Mandisa

I was so helpless
Where did the light go
I had no hope left
Deep down in my soul
I was watchin’
I was waitin’
I was prayin’
I was stayin’ down on my knees
That’s right where You found me

My Deliverer, You rescued me from all that held me captive
My Deliverer, You set me free
Now I’m alive and I can live
So every moment I will give you praise
My Deliverer
Ooh my Deliverer

There’s no pretending
I can’t do it myself
I’m so dependent
Lord I need Your help
I’ll be watchin’
I’ll be waitin’
I’ll be prayin’
I’ll be stayin’ down on my knees
That’s right where You’ll find me

My Deliverer, You rescued me from all that held me captive
My Deliverer, You set me free
Now I’m alive and I can live
And every moment I will give you praise

La la la la la I need You
You know whatever I’m goin’ through
I’ll be watchin’
I’ll be waitin’
I’ll be prayin’
I’ll be stayin’ down on my knees
That’s right where You’ll find me

My Deliverer, You rescued me from all that held me captive
My Deliverer, You set me free
Now I can live
My Deliverer, I’m no longer captive
My Deliverer, You gave Your life that I might live
So every moment I will give you praise
Yeah my Deliverer
I’m gonna give You praise
I’m gonna give You praise
My Deliverer