A friend of mine asked me to pray for his brother who was sick and being taken to the hospital. When he told me the diagnosis, I replied, “That’s not too hard for God.” The truth is that there is nothing too hard for Him. When we hear a diagnosis, run out of money, get our hearts broken, lose our job or anything else that affects the way we live, we tend to look at it with our human eyes. We see the impossibility of recovery instead of the God who makes all things possible. We see the negative instead of the positive.
We get so used to walking by sight that we box God in. We tell Him what He can do and can’t do. We limit His ability to make a way where there seems to be no way. We look at the situation we are trapped in and desperately try to find a way out, but all we see are blocked paths. Sometimes that’s the way it is. There’s no way out. “When God closes a door, look for a window” is not in the Bible. God allows us to be in those moments where there’s no way out so that He can show us that He’s still in charge. He wants to remind us that He is able. He wants to grow our faith.
Nothing drives us to our knees faster than being in a no way out situation. Nothing makes us depend on God more than to have no power over a situation. The Israelites were up against the Red Sea when they were leaving captivity in Egypt. Pharaoh and his army were closing in fast. There was no where to turn, no weapons to fight with and panic was setting in. They were exactly where God led them, yet they were cornered into a desperate situation. Instead of crying out to God, they complained and said they would have rather died as slaves than to be killed in the wilderness. They would have rather gone back to a life of sight than a life of faith.
In Exodus 14:13-14, Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent (ESV).” Think about that in the situation you are in today. Don’t fear. Don’t panic. Stay calm and trust God. He will work for you today. Then it says that The Lord will fight for you. He will fight your battle so you don’t have to. You only have to be silent. Just stand back and watch God work.
He sees your situation. In fact, it’s part of His plan for your life. He’s growing you through the tough times. When your back is against the wall and there’s no way out, that’s when God does the most amazing things. It takes us not acting in fear in those times to see the victory. It takes us holding on to God’s Word to get us through. The outcome may not be the way we thought it should have happened, but it will happen the way God intended it to. No one in Israel thought The Lord would part the Red Sea. His answer may not come in the way you think it will, but it will come right on time. Remember, there is nothing too hard for God.
“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27 ESV)
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 