Psalm 34.19-20 promise, the righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

This verse is quoted in the New Testament (Jn19.36) as being fulfilled by Jesus when He hung on the tree dying as Savior of the world. His bones were not broken in fulfillment of this verse, the perfect sacrifice, without any broken bones, gave His life before men could defile Him, as the One Who takes away the sins of the world.

Yet in reading this verse it would seem it would not refer to the Savior on the cross but to the general returning from war. It would seem this verse would apply to the hero who battles the Lord’s enemies and returns weary from killing but unaffected physically by the enemies weapons. We want to go to war and return victorious and uninjured. We do not want to be ‘rescued’ in death, from defilement, while being sacrificed for others. We want our troubles to go away with our triumph, not by our resurrection. Yet victory through apparent defeat, is often God’s way.

We are not to dictate to God the terms of His deliverance for us. That He provides any deliverance for us sinners is mercy and grace. Our hope is not in this world. Our hope is in the kingdom of God where we live with Him forever in peace and health never again having troubles for which we need to cry out to the Lord. In this world we will have trouble but Jesus has overcome the world by His resurrection. The resurrection follows the crucifixion.

So too we must often die to self and sometimes, even in this body, to fully realize our deliverance.