Deliverance or Development?
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" – James 1:2-3.
Yesterday, I made a statement I want to look at further. That is, most people are more eager to be delivered than developed. We pray for rescue, for relief, for the quick way out. But God often chooses development over deliverance because He sees what the storm can shape in us that comfort never could.
If you're like most believers, your first instinct in hardship is to pray for it to end. That’s natural. But what if the very thing you’re trying to escape is the thing God is using to equip you? What if the struggle is not a detour but the path?
In the world’s system, suffering is something to avoid. Weakness is something to hide. Pressure is something to escape. But in God’s kingdom, these are often the tools of transformation. The hard things you’re walking through might be the hammer and chisel shaping you into who He made you to be.
Think about it this way: deliverance can change your situation, but development changes you. And God is more interested in who you are becoming than what you are going through. Because if He changes your situation without changing you, you’ll just find yourself back in the same patterns again.
So instead of always praying, “God, get me out of this,” try asking, “God, what are you doing in me through this?” Instead of running from the fire, let God refine you in it. Instead of taking the shortcut, choose the path that produces strength, discipline, and trust.
This kind of mindset isn’t normal. Most people avoid pressure. Most people quit when it gets hard. Most people stay the same. But you’re not called to be like most people. You’re called to be different. Set apart. Rooted. Steady. Faithful.
Let the world chase comfort. You chase Christ. Let them pray for escape. You pray for endurance. The ones who let God develop them are the ones who will be ready when the next storm hits. And they’ll still be standing.
Yesterday, I made a statement I want to look at further. That is, most people are more eager to be delivered than developed. We pray for rescue, for relief, for the quick way out. But God often chooses development over deliverance because He sees what the storm can shape in us that comfort never could.
If you're like most believers, your first instinct in hardship is to pray for it to end. That’s natural. But what if the very thing you’re trying to escape is the thing God is using to equip you? What if the struggle is not a detour but the path?
In the world’s system, suffering is something to avoid. Weakness is something to hide. Pressure is something to escape. But in God’s kingdom, these are often the tools of transformation. The hard things you’re walking through might be the hammer and chisel shaping you into who He made you to be.
Think about it this way: deliverance can change your situation, but development changes you. And God is more interested in who you are becoming than what you are going through. Because if He changes your situation without changing you, you’ll just find yourself back in the same patterns again.
So instead of always praying, “God, get me out of this,” try asking, “God, what are you doing in me through this?” Instead of running from the fire, let God refine you in it. Instead of taking the shortcut, choose the path that produces strength, discipline, and trust.
This kind of mindset isn’t normal. Most people avoid pressure. Most people quit when it gets hard. Most people stay the same. But you’re not called to be like most people. You’re called to be different. Set apart. Rooted. Steady. Faithful.
Let the world chase comfort. You chase Christ. Let them pray for escape. You pray for endurance. The ones who let God develop them are the ones who will be ready when the next storm hits. And they’ll still be standing.
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