Before Jonah needed delivering from the belly of the great fish, he needed deliverance from the ocean and from himself. The trial of the fish was his deliverance first. Jonah was disobeying God, a sure way leading to death. He faced death being thrown into the ocean. Being swallowed by the great fish was an act of mercy, God’s deliverance. God saved him from drowning and gave him a chance to repent and to obey God’s command to go to Nineveh.
Genesis 8 begins with, “And God remembered Noah.” He then delivers him from the ark by sending a wind to dry up the waters. Noah needed deliverance from the tool of deliverance. The ark itself was a trial. Their family spent more than a year on the boat. The trial of the ark was deliverance from the destruction of the flood.
The Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt was their trial of the wilderness.
Ruth’s trial of her husband’s death and leaving her homeland and family was her deliverance, bringing her into God’s family.
Rahab’s trial of faith, hiding the spies and lying to her countrymen, was her deliverance.
When Paul tells the Corinthians to kick the sinner out of the church, the trial is for his deliverance. When he says he’s turned “such a one over to Satan,” the tribulation is for their deliverance. It leads to repentance.
We shouldn’t be quick to seek an end to our trials and tribulations. They are meant for our deliverance.
God is our deliverer. He delivered Jonah from the belly of the great fish. He delivered Noah from the ark. He delivered Ruth from her situation and Rahab from destruction. He is the deliverer. Running to every other means of ending our trials and tribulations means that we are missing the point entirely. It’s declaring we don’t believe God is in control, that we don’t believe God’s will is being done in our lives.
If we believed it to be God’s will, we’d submit to it and not try to get away from it, apart from humbling ourselves before God. If we don’t believe the trial to be God’s will, then we don’t believe God is all-powerful and in control. If you don’t believe He’s powerful enough to save you from today’s trouble, how can you be sure you believe He can save you from hell?
God’s tribulations are for believers. The trials and tribulations are His deliverance! Wanting to escape The Tribulation is rejecting God’s plan of deliverance for His people!
The Tribulation 