The last time we were together, we began a discussion on why God isn’t responsible for the bad things that happen in our lives. Satan, the god of this world, is responsible for any bad situation that you face. (If you need a refresher on the last blog, a link will be provided at the end of this blog.)

Even though Satan is responsible for the bad situations, sickness, and chaos of this world, God is not silent when we face these situations. He is right there with us. When we face bad situations, sickness, and chaos, God will help us in one of three ways:

• Deliver us from the situation.
• Deliver us through the situation.
• Deliver us home into His arms.

We are going to break this concept down so we can better understand it, but first I want to show you that deliverance is scriptural. God’s word mentions God will deliver us many times throughout the Old and New Testaments. God says He will deliver us:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)

And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. (Psalm 50:15)

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)

Now that we’ve established that calling on God for deliverance is scriptural, let’s look at a prime example in the Bible of the three ways God delivers us.

Most of us have heard the story of the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. For those who need a refresher, the story can be found in Daniel 3:8-30. Israel was sent into exile by God and the Babylonians were their new rulers. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were Israelite men who were forced into service by King Nebuchadnezzar. A decree that everyone must bow down and worship King Nebuchadnezzar brought about trouble for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were told to bow down and worship the King every time the music played, and they refused:

“O Nebudchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16b-18)

This very statement by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego introduces two of the ways God delivers us: “God will deliver us out of your hand” and “but if not.” God will deliver us from this situation or God will deliver us into His arms. They had no idea there was a third option—God would deliver them through this situation. And that is exactly what he did. All three men were thrown into the fire and survived without a hair burnt on their bodies or the smell of fire on them. God sent a fourth man (some scholars believe to be Jesus) to stand with them and protect them, to get them through the situation. God delivered them through the situation they faced. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had faith that God would deliver them, and He surely did.

Since most of us won’t be thrown into a fiery furnace, let’s look at a modern situation. You have not been feeling well for quite some time, so you decide to visit your doctor. After many tests are run, the doctor comes back with a diagnosis—cancer. Remember that God is not responsible for your illness, Satan is. But God is going to help you through this situation in one of three ways.

Deliverance FROM a situation:  After some thought, you decide to call on the name of Jesus and ask for your deliverance. Your church gets involved and you pray for healing. Before your procedure, your friends circle around you and pray for everything to go smoothly and for a safe deliverance. You go in for your biopsy and the cancer has miraculously disappeared; there is no sign of cancer that the doctor could see before. The doctor has no explanation for your healing. God has delivered you FROM cancer.

Deliverance THROUGH a situation:  Same scenario, but this time the biopsy confirms the cancer diagnosis. You face chemotherapy and radiation treatments to cure your cancer. The treatments are grueling, and your body becomes weak. Eventually, the treatments work and you are in remission from cancer, but you had a long fight to get to this point. God did not heal you from your disease, but He was with you through the situation. God delivered you THROUGH cancer.

Deliverance Into His arms: Same scenario, but the chemotherapy and radiation treatments aren’t working. You continue treatments but they don’t seem to make any progress in curing your cancer. Your body gets weaker and weaker until it finally gives out and you go home to be with God. God delivered you from cancer into His arms.

No matter which deliverance God gives us, He loves us unconditionally and it breaks His heart that we must face these situations. And if we truly knew how wonderful being with God full-time was going to be, we would choose to be delivered into His arms.

The burning question is why does God choose to deliver someone from a situation and yet another person is delivered into His arms? I don’t know and I don’t think we will ever understand this side of Heaven.

Our deliverance has nothing to do with how strong our faith is. Because someone is healed, and someone is delivered to God doesn’t mean that one person’s faith was stronger than the other. I’ve known people of great faith who were healed and others who went home to be with God. I’ve known people who don’t believe in God who were also healed. Jesus was asked about these situations when He walked this earth. When Jesus and the disciples passed by a blind man, the disciples asked who had sinned. Jesus gave a very specific answer: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3) The blind man had not sinned, and his parents had not sinned. This situation was used to show the mighty works of God.

Even though the bad situations we face may bring hardship in our lives, anything bad can be used to glorify God. Romans 8:28 tells us: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” No matter what you face, no matter how horrible it is, God can and will turn your situation around for good. It may not seem like it at the time but put your faith in Him and He will not disappoint you.

Link: Why bad things happen?