Our Deliverer Series

As we continue our studies on Psalm 91, we will pay special attention to verse 14, which reads like this:Psalm 91:14“Because he cleaves to Me in love, Therefore I deliver him; I set him on high, Because he has known My Name.” (TS2009)

In Psalm 91 up until verse 13, these are the words of assurance declared by a man who has experienced the divine protection of God in his life. However, in verse 14 are the words of God Himself to the ones who have made Him their refuge and dwelling place. These are God’s comforting words to the one who longs for Him. To long for God is to love God wholeheartedly and to cling on to Him firmly. The affirmation from God to such a person is that He will certainly deliver him.

Love God and obey His commandments

One who loves God will most assuredly obey His commandments and there is a close association between the two. Love prompts one to walk in obedience to God.

We read in 1 John 5:3,“We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.” (CEV)

Those who love God will find it easy to obey the commandments of God, and these commandments are not burdensome, but easy to follow. All the commandments of God we must understand are entirely for our own good.

Abraham obeyed God

God called Abram and said to him in Genesis 12:1,“The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” (CEV)

We read in Genesis 12:4, “So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken to him” (Webster)

Abraham heard the call of God and obediently left his country, family and relatives to go to the land that God had promised him. We esteem Abraham highly, simply because he was completely submissive to the command of God and obeyed Him without any reluctance.

When God desires to bless a person, He will separate them out of this world, exclusively for Himself, so that they can become a blessing to many. The reason many have forfeited the blessings of God in their lives is because they are unwilling to give up those things that God wants them to let go of. They believe in God, but are content to remain where they are and expect the Lord to bless them.

We can study the Old and the New Testaments to note that those whom God chose to bless had to on their part obey God and keep His commandments. They had to lay-off those things that God instructed them to.

The disciples obeyed and followed after Jesus

In the New Testament we read in Luke 5:27-28, “After this Jesus went out and saw a tax collector sitting at his place for collecting taxes. His name was Levi. Jesus said to him, "Follow me!" Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.” (ERV)

This is the record of Levi who was a tax collector sitting at his place collecting taxes. As Jesus summoned him to follow after Him, Levi immediately left it all and went after Jesus.

If we are expecting to receive the blessings of God, but choose to remain right where we are this will not be a possibility. The Lord is calling us to give up certain things so that He can bless us and make our lives a blessing to others. Jesus could have told Levi to continue being a tax collector and follow Him, but instead He required that he give up his profession to follow after Jesus.

We read in Luke 5:11,“The men brought their boats to the shore. They left everything and followed Jesus.” (ERV)

In this incident Simon, James and John who were fishermen by profession were encountered by our Lord Jesus. The Lord performed a mighty miracle and filled their empty boats with a bountiful catch of fish. Nonetheless, when Jesus beckoned them to leave their all to follow Him, they immediately did so with no hesitation whatsoever.

Observe how in both these incidents the disciples left everything and decided to follow Jesus. This is the same call of God to each one of us who desire to follow after Him. God blessed Abraham in a way that was unimaginable only because Abraham followed God with total obedience, renouncing all that God commanded Him to leave. There are many people who are followers of the Lord Jesus, who also want to be friends with this world. They therefore lead dichotomous lives, wherein they live one way when they are with people of the world and another way when they are with people of God. By doing so, we miss out on God’s blessing and God’s word admonishes us that if God is the one we love, we must follow Him alone.