Psalm 116:1-4 "I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore, I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!” Today's episode talks about how important it is to pray to the Lord for help, even when we don't see how He could help us. It also reminds us that God is always there for us. He can make a way for us even when we don't see one. He is a Waymaker! Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
God Can Make A Way Where There Is No Way!
Psalm 116:1-4 "I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore, I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”
I was only going to talk about verses 1 and 2, which are the verses of the day today on the Bible Gateway website where I look up Bible verses. I like this website because it will show you all the English translations of whatever verses you look up. Sometimes, it is helpful to look up a verse in multiple translations. Some translations are easier to understand than others. I like to read the surrounding verses of any scripture I am given to understand the context of the verse I am using. When I read more into the chapter today, I also decided to include the following two verses.
The beginning of this says that the author of this verse loves the Lord because the Lord has heard his voice and his prayers. When we hear that, we might assume that the author of this verse had a pretty easy life. We might think that the Lord answered His prayers because they were easy to answer. He didn’t need a lot, so the Lord responded to His prayers. However, when I read the following two verses, I could see this was not the case. The verse says, “The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”
The person who wrote this verse was not asking for a small prayer, yet the Lord heard his voice and his prayer and listened to him. Here are the same verses in the message translation, “ I love God because he listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face; hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn; then I called out to God for help: “Please, God!” I cried out. “Save my life!” I feel like this translation goes into a bit more depth. I feel as though we can all relate to these verses.
The good news is that if God can help the person who wrote this psalm, which is believed to be King David, then God can help us out of our mess.
The verse says, “The snares of death encompassed me; the pang of Sheol laid hold of me; I suffered distress and anguish.” How many of us have been there? How many of us thought we might not make it through a situation? We might not have thought we would die, but we definitely felt the pangs of Hell. We looked at our situation and felt there was no way out of it. Because we didn’t see a way out, we didn’t think God could help us either. We seem to do that a lot. We look at our situation, and if we can’t see a way out of it, we don’t even bother asking God for help. I mean, what can He do anyway? Have you ever been in a situation like that? I know I have asked people if they wanted prayers, and they asked me what God would do about it. They said nothing could be done, so what is the point of praying?
I understand where they are coming from and why they would think that way. However, God doesn’t have to play by our rules. He can make a way where there isn’t one. He can save us from our problems in ways we can’t even imagine. God’s ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts are higher than ours. He spoke the entire world into existence. I am sure He can figure out how to get you out of whatever situation you find yourself in, even if it seems impossible. The Lord has proven time and time again in the Bible that He can rescue His people from impossible situations. The Israelites have found themselves in several situations where they should have died, been captured, or lost the war, yet God saved them from certain death. He can do the same for you.
A song popped into my head when I typed, “He can make a way where there isn’t one.” I think that song can probably say what I am trying to say better than I can. Here are the lyrics for “My Jesus” by Anne Wilson
… Are you past the point of weary?
Is your burden weighin' heavy?
Is it all too much to carry?
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
Do you feel that empty feeling?
'Cause shame's done all its stealin'
And you're desperate for some healin'
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
… He makes a way where there ain't no way
Rises up from an empty grave
Ain't no sinner that He can't save
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
His love is strong and His grace is free
And the good news is I know that He
Can do for you what He's done for me
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
And let my Jesus change your life
… Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Amen
Amen
… Who can wipe away the tears
From broken dreams and wasted years
And tell the past to disappear? Oh
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
And all the wrong turns that you would
Go and undo if you could
Who can work it all for your good
Let me tell you about my Jesus
… He makes a way where there ain't no way
Rises up from an empty grave
Ain't no sinner that He can't save
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
His love is strong and His grace is free
And the good news is I know that He
Can do for you what He's done for me
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
And let my Jesus change your life
… Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Amen
Amen, Amen
… Who would take my cross to Calvary?
Pay the price for all my guilty?
Who would care that much about me?
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus, oh
… He makes a way where there ain't no way
Rises up from an empty grave
Ain't no sinner that He can't save
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
His love is strong and His grace is free
And the good news is I know that He
Can do for you what He's done for me
Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus
And let my Jesus change your life
… Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah, amen
Amen
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my Jesus change your life
Wow, that is a powerful song. I don’t know about you, but I love music. I didn’t ever really listen to it a lot growing up. We didn’t have a radio in our rooms, and we didn’t usually have the car radio on because there were so many of us, and we couldn’t agree on what kind of music to listen to. However, since I discovered that Christian music is a thing, I always listen to music. I think that is part of the reason my faith is so strong. All day, I have these songs reminding me about how amazing God is and how amazing I am in His eyes. There are songs out there for everything you are going through. If you don’t feel loved, there are songs to remind you how much you are loved. If you don’t feel worthy or enough, there are songs to remind you of how precious you are to our heavenly Father. If you are in a dark place, there are songs from others who have been there and made it out. Music is so good for the soul. If you want great music, check out The Big Life Mornings playlist on Spotify. I also have a playlist on my YouTube channel, walkboldlywithjesus, called prayer group, with tons of worship music on it as well.
No matter the situation, God will be there for you; you just need to ask Him. Remember to always pray to God, even if you don’t see a way out, even if it seems hopeless. He can find a way where there isn’t one. He can save you; you just have to give Him a chance. God loves you more than you know. He knows the situation you are in, and He knows the way through it. He is just waiting for you to come to Him and ask Him. Free will and humility are essential to God, and He won’t interfere if you don’t want Him to. Ask God for help, sit back, and watch Him make a way where there wasn’t one.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, we love you, and we want to pray to you. We want to ask you to save us. We thank you for always finding a way to save us from ourselves. We are so grateful. We are sorry we doubt at times. We are sorry we don’t sometimes ask because we don’t see a way out. We thank you for always coming through and for not letting us down. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I am so excited because people have started signing up for the retreat. I can’t believe I get to spend a weekend pouring God’s love into some of you. If you know someone who could give you a bit of love or time away from the reality of life, please provide them with the information or the retreat. It’s going to be a great weekend! Click Here for Retreat Info. Check it out, and if you are interested, please sign up. If you need more information or have more questions, please get in touch with catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com or 860-481-0959. Click Here to email. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!