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"Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; they shook because he burned with anger. Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were set ablaze by it. He bent the heavens and came down, total darkness beneath his feet. He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his hiding place, dark storm clouds his canopy around him. From the radiance of his presence, his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals. The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High made his voice heard. He shot his arrows and scattered them; he hurled lightning bolts and routed them. The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed, at your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he pulled me out of deep water. He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out to a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."
(Psalm 18:7-19, NLT)
If you have not read this fairly long passage of scripture, please do at this moment. Keep in mind, "Read until you hear from God." After you read Psalm 18:7-19, just think about how amazingly and terrifyingly powerful God is!
Look at all that God did:
- Shook the earth
- Made the earth quake
- Mountains trembled
- Mountains shook
- Bent the heavens
- Rode on a cherub
- Made darkness his hiding place
- Thundered from Heaven
- Made His voice heard
- Shot His arrows
- Hurled lightning bolts
- Reached down from on high
When you read this list, it is terrifying to think about if this were all to come true and you were on the wrong side of God's deliverance. However, to know that God is on our side and that we as His followers are with THAT powerful God, it should give us great encouragement and comfort to see that is how one of our brothers in Christ was rescued. I am not claiming that everything said in Psalm 18:7-19 will come true for you in your times of trouble. Now, if they all do verbatim, please email back and let us know! I want to hear that story! I think what we can take from this is the encouragement that God looks after His children, and when we cry out to God for help and call to the Lord in distress, God does something about it!
I also think the encouragement from this verse and the thing that we can claim as followers of Jesus is verse 19, especially the last part: God "delighted in me." As a follower of Jesus, because of the work of Jesus, God delights in us as His children. You can know that as a follower of Jesus, you will be rescued because of the favor and delight that God has for you. Now, this favor and delight might look different than what we want it to, but we can know that we are God's delight because of our relationship with Jesus!
Follower of Jesus, be encouraged that the God of Psalm 18:7-18 is on your side!
Follower of Jesus, be encouraged that God delights in you!
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