THE LORD KNOWS HOW

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Peter 2:9).

The apostle Peter avers that there are two things that God knows that are of great concern to mankind. First, He knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation; and, secondly He knows how to reserve the ungodly to the day of judgment.

*THE LORD KNOWS HOW TO DELIVER THE GODLY OUT OF TEMPTATION: The temptation of which he here speaks must have to do with the severe trials that we are called upon to bear. James tells us: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing....Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." (James chapter one).

God wills that we be victorious. We can be victorious when we lose our wills in the will of God...there is no other way. Remember, that Paul had a thorn in the flesh, which gave him many problems. He besought the Lord three times to remove it, but the Lord did not. He did give Paul the grace to be able to endure the problem. ( 2 Corinthians 12). Therefore, we conclude that God does not always remove the obstacle, but He gives us the grace to overcome it.

In the days of Daniel, there were three Hebrews (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), who were cast into a fiery furnace because they refused to bow to the idol Gods of the Chaldeans. Instead of burning up in the fiery furnace, these boys were delivered (Daniel 3). Now, this is not to that we will have similar experiences, but it does say that no matter what...God will take care of us. As these men said: "Our God is able!" They let the king know that they would stand for God even if it meant their deaths.

Folks, we need that type of faith. We can only overcome when we stand strong in the faith. We cannot see the way, except we follow Him who leads through His word. "O Lord, I know that it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10:23). Listen to this passage of hope: "And there had no temptation been taken you but such as is common to man: But, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Corinthians 10:13).

God is able to do this because God is God. When we attempt to deliver ourselves out of trouble, we usually wind up making a mess of things. When Paul and Silas were in jail (Acts 16), they prayed to God. I do not know what they said...but, I know that the Lord heard them and they were set free. If we have enough faith, we can move mountains! We all have mountains that stand before us from time to time. The mountains of fear, doubt, hurt and pain. But, with faith in God, we can move them.

Peter also said that: GOD IS ABLE TO RESERVE THE UNJUST UNTO THE DAY OF JUDGMENT: We are so quick to make hasty decisions. We are quick to judge and condemn. many times, however, our judgments are wrong. God knows all things. His judgment will be according to truth. He knows every thought of the heart. He therefore can make the right judgment. He does not forget. He does not lay something upon us that we are not guilty of. He remembers where the body of Moses was laid to rest. We should know therefore that His judgment will be accurate.

Many times, we have punished the wrong ones and allowed the guilty to go free. God knows all and such will not happen in His judgment. Here is a passage that should encourage each and everyone. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thy enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him a drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:19,20).

It is often easier to take the easy way out, but that is not always the right way. Sometimes it is difficult to do the will of God, especially when everyone else seems to be going the other way, but just remember this...GOD KNOWS.

- Dan Carter