What Time Is It?
And the salvation of the righteous is of YHWH; He is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39
Salvation – What time is it in your life? Is it a time of trouble? If it is, then the psalmist has a perfect word for you: teshu’ah – deliverance!
Let’s slow down for a moment and consider when teshu’ah comes into effect. Does the psalmist promise deliverance after your life is over? Does he proclaim the rescue from YHWH after you have run the course? Does he promise that you will have safety after you leave this valley of tears? NO! He says that the rescue of YHWH will be experienced in the time of trouble, here, now, when it matters. Rescue isn’t for the afterlife. Rescue is during life. My time of trouble won’t occur when I am safely tucked away in heaven. My time of trouble is right here, in the midst of the storm, in the life of chaos and hurt, in the world under the influence of yetzer ha’ra. If God can’t rescue me here, if God won’t rescue me now, then salvation isn’t what it needs to be. You and I need help when it matters, not after we are six feet under.
There are times when I am afraid to go to sleep. It’s irrational, I know, but that doesn’t take away my fear. I am afraid because I know that I have been disobedient. I know that I haven’t lived up to my desire to serve Him faithfully and completely. I know that in times of trouble, I have failed. I am afraid to go to sleep because I don’t want this moment to be the end. I want to start again tomorrow and have another chance to demonstrate that I really do love Him and I really can be as holy as He wishes me to be. In my time of trouble, I need safety (teshu’ah). I need to close my eyes knowing that He loves me even when I fail and that if I wake, He will have trusted me to pick up my cross and follow Him once more.
There are times when I feel overwhelmed with the demands and the complexity of life. There are times when it just seems too much for me. I want to run away from it all. In those times of trouble, I need deliverance (teshu’ah). I need to see the simple path of faithful obedience that will take me just one step further down the road. I need deliverance from the distractions of devotion to Him so that my next step is illuminated. I need to be delivered from the preoccupation of planning in order that I might walk in His ways.
There are times when the valley of the shadow of death presses in upon me. When my experience is filled with pain and sorrow, I need rescue (teshu’ah). I need the strong arm of the Lord to do the fighting for me. I am exhausted and battle-worn. The sword is too heavy for me to lift today. I need the shelter of His strength while I recover.
What time is it? Perhaps it is time for teshu’ah for you.
Topical Index: teshu’ah, salvation, rescue, deliverance, safety, Psalm 37:39
I am experiencing the truths of this article…..
My 3 month visitor’s visa to Israel was up so I decide to use the ticket that I still had to Holland and stay there a week and then go back to Israel.
On Monday morning, Nov29th, my flight from Amsterdam to TelAviv via Vienna, was almost an hour late in departing from Amsterdam, so when we got to Vienna we were immediately put on a bus and brought to the waiting plane. When I arrived in Tel Aviv, I discovered that my luggage did not make the flight. Then I went to Customs, and they told me they did not believe me that I was not working in Israel, and that I had been there too many times, too long (How do you just stay with people and do nothing?) My Cell phone was in my luggage which did not arrive, so I had no way of contacting anyone, and did not know the numbers so they could call them.
I finally found the invitation to stay in Israel for Chanukah, but it said 1 month and I had a ticket to return to UK in 3 months. So I did not show them the letter, because it would just have raised more questions about the extra time I would be there and where I would stay then. So I spent the night in jail. I had not eaten or had a drink of water since the morning flight. They took my purse and carry-on with my toiletries before they put me in the cell.
There was a shower there but no soap, or towels. There were metal bunk beds with vinyl covered mattresses, no sheets, but two blankets and no pillow.
The window with bars would not close, and it was cold. SO I slept with my clothes and coat on.
They came for me at 5:00 am and said I needed to get ready for a 6:00am flight to Austria.
They said my luggage was in Vienna and to pick it up there at Lost and Found.
Then they took my deodorant and a small jar of face crème out of my carry-on (which they had all night).
They got a cardboard box about the size of a desktop computer tower, and were going to put those 2 things in there because they didn’t want them in my carry-on. (These things had been through 2 baggage checks –from Tel Aviv, to Holland, and then from Holland) and they were fine!
But now they were a problem!
So I decided if they wouldn’t find a smaller box, I would fill the box, so I put my blow dryer, and magic jack phone in there to fill the box, and so I wouldn’t have to carry them around. Mistake!
When I arrived in Vienna this morning the box was not on the luggage band.
So I went to Lost and found to pick up my luggage from Amsterdam and to report the box missing. They checked for my luggage – not there.
They checked the computer – Oh -it arrived in Tel Aviv last night!
So here I am in the Austrian airport, with clothes on that I’ve slept in, I have no change of clothes or toiletries.
I have to wait until my flight back to Amsterdam leaves at 8:00pm tonight.
After that I don’t know how the luggage situation will work out, and then the ultimate question, where I’m going to go.
But I will deal with that tomorrow. I think I will see if Arthur, our UK representative, wants a housekeeper/office administrator for a while.
I can’t believe all this happened, but it has, so I guess I need to see what God has for me now.
I went to the airport again the following morning to check whether my luggage came in on previous night’s flight or the 9am flight that morning, but it was still in TelAviv they tell me.
I have been very cold, so I bought a new winter coat and good warm boots. So now I will be ready to endure a non-Israeli winter.
I will continue to still at the airport Hotel for another night.
( wow it’s 2 weeks since all of this started!)
…My Luggage arrived that Friday morning, but there was a big storm in Europe so the air port was full of long lines of people rebooking cancelled flights etc.
I decided to wait out Shabbat in my Hotel room, and got a ticket to UK Sunday morning. The weather was nice in UK and Arthur picked me up at Heathrow.
I really can’t stay in UK very long, there is not enough work at Arthur’s , who is our UK representative, to warrant a fulltime helper.
I was thinking if I go back to Canada, I will have to get a job, which will be difficult in this economy.
But then I received this email from the ministry I where I worked for almost 4 years, before I went to Israel.
Hi Antoinette,
We are proud of how our precious sister is holding out in the midst of very interesting and trying times. God bless you.
Please pray that if you come back to your family (us) in Canada for a season we could get you in the studio which is growing in size and purpose since you were here.
Presently we are working on very amazing projects related to the harvesting of the Word, Produce and People of Israel; Ww took our first contract to film & edit 4 conferences in Canada in 2011. We need someone to help us in that end of the business/ministry. Anyways there is options here to volunteer and also begin to participate in a work that will be geared to raise income to pay wages for support of the workers of the ministry.
Blessings,…
I am considering this very seriously, as a solution to my situation.
In that; I could continue in the work that gives me purpose, and continue to grow my faith life.
I would be closer to my family, and hopefully, more involved with them.
I would be close to where my mom is living in a senior’s complex in Ailsa Craig.
I also don’t see a workable solution to my visitor’s visa situation, so the scenario that I just went through, would be repeated in future.
The ministry I was involved with in Israel, will probably not consider getting 1 year volunteer visas for us,
because there would be problems for them that would need to be addressed.
I don’t completely understand their situation, but that’s my understanding of it.
Now I need to compile a list of what needs to be shipped to me from Israel, because the majority of my clothes and legal papers are still there.
I’m researching shipping companies and prices today, and since it’s Christmas time, the prices for travel and shipping are outrageous!
But I will find a way to work it all out with His help.
What was that saying about the hand of God working invisibly among the affairs of men? A story worth telling to all His children when we get to the marriage feast. Now, is there anything we can do to help with this? And if there is, how can we do it?
Thanks for the offer, but the help that I have needed from time to time I have received in your timely posts. They have been “solid ground” so often for the past few years.
I don’t have time to read everyday, but when I was drawn to read, it was quite often exactly what I was thinking about! I would find clarification, conviction, or encouragement. So thanks for the help from Him, you are a real servant. Be blessed as you have blessed others.
Skip,
A great article describing my personal trail of despair, hope, and redemption. It took me back 58 years to the exact moment when I turned away from my dream of continuing a successful career as a singing cowboy and put me on the obedient path leading to a successful career as a professional engineer, family man, and church leader. I have never lost my love of horses and will soon release my latest book, “KING and the COWBOY – The Saga of Smilin’ Bill and His Wonder Horse King.”
Thank you,
Bill Cummins
Dear Skip,
I, too, believe this WORD is for now! Noah had an ark for the people to go into for safety and told them the time is now. “And the salvation of the righteous is of YHWH; He is their strength in the time of trouble. Psalm 37:39” He is our ARK, and He demonstrated the way of deliverance as He cast out the spirits and healed the sick. The disciples also went through deliverance then loved others as they had been loved by the Truth that set them free.
The Word you gave, “deliverance” which is accompanied by the “fear of God” as you described today, with humbleness before Him, repentance, then deliverance, and restoration will not only make us free, but safe and saved from evil. In Him is our ARK of safety built by His Truth.
Each morning is a new opportunity to turn to Him as our strength and source for life, and to grow closer to Him. We do not have time to waste while here on earth.
Thank you for this encouraging word!
Skip,
Another outstanding article. I wonder if you gave any insight on Psalms 33:17:
An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
It was timely that you wrote about Teshu’ah. I recently had this passage explained, the word translated “safety” here is Teshu’ah and the Hebrew word for horse is transliterated “soos”. What I had explained was the word for horse is from where Ieosoos/Jesus is derived. Your thoughts?
I am not sure about the connection to the Hebrew word for “horse.” The Greek Iesousmight be derived from this word but the principal issue with the Greek for “Jesus” is the lack of any “J” sound in Greek or Hebrew. As far as I can remember without checking, the “J” sound wasn’t invented until the 14th century.
I don’t think that there is any connection to “horse”. Iesous is the nearest Greek transliteration to Yeshua (remembering that, as a general rule, names are transliterated rather than translated when moving between languages) with the ‘s’ added at the end because all masculine names in Greek end in ‘s’.
From Iesous it was then transliterated into Latin as Jesu (with the J having a Y sound) and later into English as first Jesu (direct from Latin) and then Jesus. As late as the 15th century though even the then young English language had no hard J sound. I’m not sure exactly when the current J was added to the language but I’m sure google would have the answer.
Is there perhaps a link between teshu’ah – rescue – and teshuvah – repentance?
In this case, teshu’ah seems linked to sha’va and ya’shah rather than shuv.
http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=37&v=39&t=KJV#conc/39
Thanks, Skip. I hadn’t gotten so far as to look it up. I wasn’t thinking so much of the roots (I was pretty confident that they were different) but more in terms of places where they could be linked through usage (e.g. as part of a Hebrew word pun) or even through their word pictures (again, I haven’t gone into any depth with that yet). More of an interesting diversion that anything, given their very similar sound and a relationship between the meanings that seems obvious from a western, Christian point of view (teshuvah leading to teshu’ah). Maybe I just need more sleep ;-).
The time is now.. and “now” is the day of salvation!! “For He says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Our Deliverer has come.. His (very) Name is “Salvation!” “You shall call His name “Pele-yoez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom..”- but wait!.. there’s more!! lol!!!