August 20

Deliverance Not Limited

He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven. — Job 5:19 BSB

Eliphaz was right when he spoke of God's truth. We may have as many troubles as the days of the week, but the same God who worked on those six days will continue working for us until we are fully delivered. We will find rest with Him and in Him on our Sabbath. The quick succession of trials is one of the hardest tests of faith. Before we’ve even recovered from one, another one hits, and then another, until we’re overwhelmed. But the equally fast arrival of deliverances is deeply encouraging. New songs are forged on the anvil of affliction, just as the hammer brings out music. In the spiritual world, we see a parallel to "the Harmonious Blacksmith." Our confidence is in this: when the Lord allows six trials, six they will be—no more.

Maybe we won’t get a rest day, and like sailors, trouble may surround us. What then? “In seven, no evil will touch you.” Trouble may roar, but it will be kept at a distance and won’t harm us. It may distress us, but it can’t lay a hand on us.

With strength and readiness, we will face the six or seven troubles and leave fear to those who have no Father, no Savior, and no Comforter.