John 16:33 “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” This episode talks about how God has already conquered this world. It also talks about how God will get us through any thing we are going through. Even if we can't see a way, God can make a way. 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 Will Make A Way Where There Is No Way
John 16:33 “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
This is something that we can all take heart in knowing. We will all face persecution, but Jesus has conquered this world. We don’t have to worry that the persecution will be the end of us. Sometimes it feels like it will. There are times when the persecution seems like it is too much, like we are drowning and we can’t possible come up for air. This is when it is important to remember this verse. The enemy will definitely try to make you feel like he is winning. He will make you feel like you are in a losing situation and no matter what happens you can’t win.
This is actually his specialty. He loves to make us feel like we are in a hopeless situation. He whispers in our ear that there is no way out. No matter what you do, you hurt someone, you lose someone, you end up getting hurt, whatever it is. I have had several friends that have been in this type of situation lately. When we are in those situations the enemy may be right, there is no way out that we can see. It is those last words that I want you to focus on. No way out that we can see. The thing is, we don’t have to see a way out. God can see things that we can’t see. He can make a way where there is no way. God is really good at making a way in times when people thought for sure there wasn’t a way.
I am sure when the Israelites were leaving Egypt and they were being pursued by the Egyptian army they thought there was no way out. The army was gaining on them and all they saw in front of them was the Red Sea. There was no possible outcome that they could see where they lived. If they tried to cross the Red Sea they would drown. If they turned back they would be caught and surly be killed for fleeing. It seemed like they were in an impossible situation. However, God made a way where there was no way. In Exodus 14:15-18 it says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”
I am 100% sure that there wasn’t a single person in that group of people that saw that way out. God can make a way where there is no way. Maybe you are in a situation where you can’t see a way out, hang in there, God has a plan. Maybe you are in a situation where there is no good choice, God will show you which to choose if you ask Him. If you are stuck in a situation and you can’t see a way out, I urge you to read Isaiah 43. I found Isaiah 43:15-16, “I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,” when I was searching for a verse about God making a way where there wasn’t one. However, when I went to the verse I decided to read the whole chapter and it is really good. It talks about various things that the Lord has done for us over the years. Isaiah 43:19 says, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
The Bible is full of stories where God did the impossible, where He did something that no one saw coming. Remember Daniel in the lion’s den? Daniel continued to pray to our Lord, even when it was outlawed and so he was thrown in the Lion’s pit. God sent and angel to keep the Lion’s mouths closed so they wouldn’t eat Daniel. This can be found in Daniel 6. There was also Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that refused to bow to King Nebuchadnessar’s golden statue and were thrown in the fiery furnace. God sent an angel into the furnace to keep them from burning up. This can be found in Daniel 3. I am sure no-one involved in these two circumstances could have seen these two outcomes. However, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego all had the courage to stay in the fight. They had the courage to trust God would get them out of the situation even when they couldn’t see how. Can we be more like this guys? Can we keep doing the next right thing, even when we don’t see how it will all turn out? Can we keep going when it seems like all is lost?
This bible verse reminds us that all is not lost. Yes, the enemy might be making your life miserable, just he was with Job. Remember Job? He lost everything. His crops, his animals, his children, and eventually his health. He could not see any way forward that wasn’t filled with misery. And yet, he stayed in the fight. He didn’t give up on God. If you ever feel like your life can’t get any worse and you are sure that no-one understands what you are going through, read the book of Job. Talk with Job, he understands what you are going through. He understands what if feels like to suffer day in and day out with no relief. He knows what it feels like to lose everything. He will understand. And if you are struggling to see any light at the end of your tunnel, read the ending of the book of Job. Spoiler Alert, Job doesn’t end up dying in his misery. The story ends with Job receiving his wealth back several fold, having another 10 children and living for another 140 years. The enemy doesn’t win? Why not? Because God has already conquered this world. He is in charge, He is the winner.
You may feel beaten down, but you will not be broken. You may feel as though you have been stuck in this impossible situation for a long time and you see no way out. Hang in there, God will make a way out. You may even wonder if God is hearing you or if God is there with you. He is. He is always right there with you. He will not always take our struggles away from us or even prevent us from our struggles and we learned yesterday why that is. In Romans 5:3-5 we learned that our struggles produce endurance, and endurance produces character and character produces hope. We need to have struggles in our lives. This is how we grow, this is how we learn. This is how we learn to lean into and rely on God. Think about the really great times in your lives. Did you feel really close to the Lord? Did you rely on Him and thank Him for all that good that you have? If you did, awesome! I bet you would be in the minority. Many times when things are good, we forget about God. We think we don’t need to rely on Him because all is going well. Often times we feel the closest to God when we are in a place of suffering because this is when all other comforts are stripped away and we remember to turn to Him. If you remember nothing else from this episode today I hope you remember God can make a way where there is not way. You are not defeated, keep going, this struggle will not overcome you! You can do this! You are strong with the Lord by your side. Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to know in the depths of our heart that you can make a way where there is no way. Help us to trust that you have already conquered this world. We will not be defeated. When we forget help us to remember these incredible stories of those that came before us that trusted you would save them when they didn’t see a way. Help us to not listen to the enemy who tells us that we are not strong enough, that there is no way out and that you will not save us. Help us to only listen to you Lord. Give every person listening to this episode a desire to read Your Word and find comfort in it. You have done so much for us Lord and we are so grateful. We thank you for giving us strength when we have none. You are so wonderful. You have done the impossible time and time again and we couldn’t be more in awe if we tried. We love you 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 look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow. Have a blessed day!