In II Timothy 3:11 Paul writes: “What persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me.” Following Christ did not exempt Paul from persecutions. In fact, the next verse famously proclaims: “indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Paul said he “endured” the persecutions that came his way. Then he says: “and out of them all the Lord rescued me.” But the “deliverance” he received did not mean that he didn’t have to “endure” them; it was not “rescue” like we would think of, meaning that God didn’t let him experience the difficulty. It was just that God spared him alive to do the next things He had planned for him. But even here in II Timothy, after all those persecutions, Paul was writing from prison, and was about to be put to death.

In fact, when Paul says “out of them all the Lord delivered me” he may have been speaking spiritually; that God had given him the grace to persevere, and not turn back, despite the persecutions. For the worst thing that can happen in a trial is not that you may be hurt physically, but that you be found wanting spiritually, and fail the test of authenticity. Paul passed that test, on every occasion. Even now he was going to his death, holding fast his testimony. But he could proclaim: “out of them all the Lord delivered” him – into His eternal kingdom and glory! But there is no promise of escape from persecution here.

In the same way, God does not promise US what we might think of as “escape” from our persecutions and tribulations, but He does promise to do for His genuine children what He did for Paul: “deliver” us out of them into His kingdom. Don’t look for “escape” from your difficulties, but for God’s “deliverance” through them! There is a difference!