"Pippa and I met Ah Yin when we visited Jackie Pullinger’s work in Hong Kong. He had become a drug addict as a teenager. His father was an addict. He was brought up in the notorious Walled City. He joined a gang at the age of eleven. They ate, stole and fought together. They took heroin together. At the age of fourteen he got caught doing a robbery and spent his first time in detention.
Over the years he tried everything to get off drugs. Nothing worked. Then he met Jackie and, through the power of Jesus, came off drugs with no pain at all. Since then he has become one of the leaders of Jackie’s work in Hong Kong. He has trained many people to pray for the sick and to work with the poor. He is one example of the millions of people who Jesus has delivered from addiction and set free.
The word used for ‘deliverance’ in the New Testament means ‘to be saved, to be rescued’. Jesus is the great ‘deliverer’ (Romans 11:26). He is ‘the Saviour of the world’ (John 4:42).
Psalm 56:1-13
Trust God to deliver you
I have found that sometimes fear can be overwhelming. David feared for his life (v.6). He discovered that the answer to fear is trust in God. ‘I trust in God; I will not be afraid’ (vv.6,11).
David had been captured by the Philistines in Gath. It must have been a terrible experience. He was ‘kicked around’, ‘stomped on every day’ and beaten up (v.1, MSG).
Yet in the midst of it all he trusted in God: ‘When I get really afraid I come to you in trust. I’m proud to praise God; fearless now, I trust in God’ (vv.3–4, MSG).
There are times in life when we come under attack. It could be spiritual attack or attack from other people – at work, from neighbours, or from further afield. We too need to trust God.
Whatever the cause of the fear, like David, put your trust in God: ‘In God I have put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid’ (v.11a, AMP).
This psalm ends on a note of deliverance and triumph, as David thanks God for setting him free. ‘God, you did everything you promised, and I’m thanking you with all my heart. You pulled me from the brink of death, my feet from the cliff-edge of doom. Now I stroll at leisure with God in the sunlit fields of life’ (v.13, MSG).
Lord, thank you for the many times in my life when I have been afraid and have called on you for help and you have delivered me. Today I bring before you … I call on you for help and trust in you to deliver me."
1. Hallelujah! Indeed praise You, Lord, for the deliverance. Little struggles may have come but I trust in You to deliver me. Thank You.
2. Thank You for the love, Lord. May I glorify You more at work by taking interest in others.
3. Thank you for the start of a good walk. Exploration. Bui Vien.
