Delivered: Experiencing God's Power in Your Pain

By Beth Moore

Based on her bestselling book, Get Out of That Pit, and condensed for busy readers, Beth Moore delivers a stirring message of sheer hope, utter deliverance, and glorious freedom of God.

When you find yourself in a “pit” of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness, there is a way out. God is in the deliverance business. He longs for you to be free, to know the love and presence that are better than life—and the power of His Word that defies all darkness.

In Delivered, Beth Moore discusses the three primary ways you can end up in a pit: you may be thrown in, you may slip in, or you may jump in! Beth shares her own journey out of the pit and the way the poetic expressions of Psalm 40 rewarded her with a new song for her soul given by her Savior.

In this soul-stirring book, you’ll find:

• Short chapters packed with wisdom and practical advice
• Encouragement and hope for those struggling through hard times
• Perfect for use as a devotional or for small group study

You can be free from the worst life has to offer and learn to take Christ’s mighty arm when he reaches into the depths of the pit you’ve been stuck in. In Delivered, break through past hurts and find true peace and freedom at last.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781404109643

Beth Moore

Author and speaker Beth Moore is a dynamic teacher whose conferences take her across the globe. She has written numerous bestselling books and Bible studies. She is also the founder and visionary of Living Proof Ministries based in Houston, TX.

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© 2007 Beth Moore

Derived from material previously published in Get Out of That Pit.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

Published in association with Yates &Yates, LLP, www.yates2.com.

Abridgement by Kris Bearss.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

Scripture quotations marked amp are from the Amplified® Bible. Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked ASV are from the Authorized Standard Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB® is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version®. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-4041-0924-7 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4041-0964-3 (ebook)

Epub Edition February 2019 9781404109643

Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

Introduction

1. Life in the Pit

2. When You’re Thrown into a Pit

3. When You Slip into a Pit

4. When You Jump into a Pit

5. Getting Out of Your Pit

6. The Three Steps Out of Your Pit

7. Waiting on God for Deliverance

8. Make Up Your Mind

9. Singing a New Song

10. Our Pit-Less Future

Notes

About the Author

Introduction

A few days ago I stood in a line for something my Bible-study publisher called a meet and greet. I had the joy of hugging at least a hundred and fifty studio-audience members for the Bible-study taping we’d just concluded. Laughter and happy testimonies filled the room and flooded my heart. By the time I hugged the last person, however, my mind was spinning from the more private things that had been whispered in my ear. One woman had recently lost a twenty-two-year-old daughter in a car accident. Another just behind her had buried a beloved three-year-old not long ago. Then I hugged the neck of a precious woman with a brightly colored scarf hiding the ravages of breast cancer that had recently metastasized to her brain. Beside her stood her sister, who was doing everything she could not to give way to bitterness. A few minutes later, I embraced someone battling an eating disorder, then a pastor’s wife whose husband had recently been invited out of their church. Another person slipped me a piece of paper and whispered, Just read the note, but not right now! The note was a request for prayer that she would be delivered from a long-term addiction.

Staring out the window on the plane ride home, I held open to God the letters I’d been given, as if He could see them better in hands at high altitude. I told Him again what I’ll tell you: people are hurting. He already knew. I bet you did too.

Life can be excruciating. Crushing, in fact. The sheer magnitude of our worries can press down on our heads until we unknowingly descend into a pit of despair one inch at a time. Something so horrible can happen that we conclude we’ll never be okay again. We can blow it so badly we think God would just as soon we stayed under that dirt and out of His sight. But, if we’re willing to let truth speak louder than our feelings, and long enough that our feelings finally agree, we can be far more than okay. We can be delivered to a place where the air is crisp, the enemy is whipped, and the view is magnificent.

The words in the coming chapters fell completely fresh on me, as I pray with all my heart they will fall on you. They are not revisions of an old message. Each season of my life offers a new lesson, adds a new perspective, and the old fervor burns on and on. I suppose, as the chorus goes, Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die.

Yet it has never been enough for me to be free—I want you to be free too. It is not enough for me to know the thrill of God’s presence—I want you to know it too. I want you to know the power of His Word that can defy every addiction, heal any affliction, and plug up every pit. I want you to know a love that is better than life. Because I have.

And I was a wreck.

I remember the first time I got an upgrade on a flight. I hadn’t earned it with frequent-flyer miles. They’d run out of room in economy, and, since I was traveling alone, they told me they needed my seat and were moving me up. Throughout the flight, I was so excited that I acted like a five-year-old. I kept looking at the people to my right and left and saying, Isn’t this fun? Can you believe this? Can you believe we’re sitting up here?

Strangely, they could. I was a tad much for them. Not nearly cool enough. The whole time the flight attendant served us, I fought the overwhelming desire to hop up and help her. If I thanked her once, I thanked her a thousand times. The whole cabin was worn out by the time we reached our destination. I didn’t get another upgrade for a while. I think the airlines sent out a memo.

Believe me when I say I got an upgrade from the pit, and I didn’t earn it either. Though it’s been years since I got it, I think about it every single day. A pauper to God’s scandalous grace, all I know to do with the overflow is serve.

I’m writing to tell you I believe God has scheduled your flight out of a pit. Yep, you have an offer for an upgrade right here in front of you. You really can move up and out of that pit. If you’ll grant me the privilege, I’d like to be your flight attendant for a while. I’ve taken this trip before. It’s bumpy, but the destination is worth it. Thanks for having me along.

1

Life in the Pit

My man, our two dogs, and I just got home from a 1,700-mile road trip sewing five states together like a patchwork quilt. It’s something we do several times a year.

When you insist on traveling cross-country with two sizable canines, you get to save your cash on motel rooms. We mostly stay in lodgings that have numbers in the names. I sleep between Keith (that’s my man) and Beanie (one of the dogs), and from the sound of things, each has a deviated septum. I respond by turning up the air-conditioning unit, which in turn responds by freezing up and shutting down.

Folks who know how much we travel sometimes ask me why we don’t get an RV. The answer, in a word: the bathroom. (Or is that two words?) The small space and lack of fresh air in an RV makes

Reviews for Delivered

[avidmom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beth Moore is not an unfamiliar teacher to me, years ago I was involved in a women’s Bible study group where we would sit in the auditorium, watch the church’s big screen television and join Moore’s class on The Tabernacle through the magic of satellite. I remember being very impressed by her in depth teaching and wit. The workbook that went along with the class is still here on my bookshelves. But, that was then, this is now, and after last year’s list of let-downs in the world of “Christian-ese” I was a little leery. I’m happy to say that this book did not disappoint.Going back to the Old Testament Hebrew, Moore defines what a pit is and what a pit feels like when you’re in one. Apparently, some of us can be in a pit and not even know it. So what are the tell-tale signs of pit dwelling? According to Moore, “you feel stuck,” “you can’t stand up,” and “you’ve lost your vision.” Pits are dark and uncomfortable. But some “pit dwellers” have become so accustomed to “pit living” that they’ve decorated the inside, brought some furniture in, and invited company over for dinner. I know a little about “pit visiting” and “pit dwelling.” Who doesn’t?So how do you get in a pit? Moore lists and explains the three ways to get there. One: someone throws you in. Think Joseph of the Old Testament. His brothers threw him in a pit and left him for dead - and then sat down to have a nice picnic lunch next to the pit where Joseph was crying and screaming! (I never really paid that much attention to that part of the story, but when you think about it, geez, what jerks!!! Even if Joseph was daddy’s favorite and a bit of a brat, nobody deserves that. Fortunately, that story does have a happy ending.) Sometimes it’s just a matter of circumstance. You know, pit happens. So sometimes we get there by the stupid and/or mean actions of others and sometimes it’s just the way life goes; bad, sometimes tragic things happen. Two: we slip, slide away into a pit. We didn’t intend to do anything wrong; maybe we were even trying to do something good by being helpful but ended up trapped in an unhealthy relationship or position. (I think the psychological term for this is codependence. My best friend defines this as “doing something for somebody that they’re more than capable of doing for themselves.”) When people have an unhealthy dependence on us – or us on them – that’s a kind of pit (and a tough one to get out of too). And then there’s the time we jump into a pit. Oh, yeah. We know it’s a stupid thing to do but we do it anyway and live to regret it later. There you have it. Three ways to get in a pit: thrown in, slip in, jump in.So how do you get out? Typically, you’re in a pit by yourself. Nobody’s there to throw you out, it’s impossible to slip out, and you certainly can’t jump out. Sometimes though you do have company. “Pit pileups” (as in the case of dysfunctional families) are not that uncommon and someone in the group needs to lead the way out. Maybe someone can pull you out, but even then, you’re likely to find yourself in another kind of pit. (Kind of like “out of the frying pan into the fire” situation.) Moore makes a point here that I never thought of: every time the Israelites of the Old Testament demanded a human deliverer they ended up defeated and/or in slavery again. Getting out of and staying out of whatever pit we find ourselves in requires some knowledge (what’s a pit, how do we get in ‘em) and effort on our part. We’ve got to decide to get out (believe it or not, some people like their pits) and let God get us out. She also includes ways we can help other people get out of their pits without falling back in ourselves. Moore includes definite steps on how to do that in what she calls “page-to-pavement answers.” It’s pretty good advice too. I liked this book. I looked forward to grabbing my cup of coffee in the morning and reading it. There’s a lot of common sense here backed up with Bible. It may not be heavy-duty theology but there are word studies and familiar biblical stories looked at with a fresh perspective. Moore is also funny and quite a few anecdotes are in here which makes the reading pretty entertaining. The chapter on music was quite a surprise and included in the back of the book is a little mini-study guide of “Reflection Questions” and “Personal Application Questions.” What really shocked me, though, was when she spoke of what she thinks of the state of the Christian community today and found out that we share very similar views.

[rebecca8jane · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the biblical backing for all of her advice, and the metaphors were extremely helpful. It was nice to know that other people have been in "the pit" before me, and God helped them out. I was slightly disappointed in some of the assumptions made (such as the woman who offered to read Tarot cards was a witch), and felt condemned during some examples of how one falls into a pit (but she had to put that in there- the point is that you're in a pit, that's why you're reading this book), but overall the book was good.

[mtgirl_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The author gives tips on how to trust God to get out of depression and other negative things Pretty good. (Feb 08)

[victorya_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I so needed this book. I have a great life, love God and am truly blessed, but I've just been in a rut and in the pits for the past year. Sure there are some trauma, drama and crisis' in my life, but overall lilfe is good. This is JUST the book I needed to get me out of that pit!