“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher that the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts, For as rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the Sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:8-11
Sometimes life does not turn out like we think it will and we face circumstances that seem so hard, so terrible that it literally takes our breath away. The devastation looks so horrible and final that we do not believe that there is a chance that we will ever come ack form the destruction. I think is some ways it is even harder for a believer to handle the disappointment that life can bring. As believers, we pray and fast, holding to God as the author and the finisher of our faith, knowing He is more than able to answer our prayers and when it comes down to the wire, we feel like God just chose not to answer and to intervene in the situation we have been believing Him to solve. All through out the Bible, there were men and women who stood firm for God and life seemed to just pull the rug out from under them and their prayers did not get answered the way they thought they would. Joseph honored God by honoring his father only to sold into slavery for 13 years by his brothers. The children of Israel were delivered from bondage in Egypt to find themselves trapped in a ravine with the Red Sea in front of them and Pharoh’s army pursing them from behind. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to dishonor God and bow and worship the statue Nebuchadnezzar erected, instead of deliverance they were sentenced to the fiery furnace. Daniel would not let the decrees and laws of Babylon, instead he continued to pray three times each day. He seemed to be rewarded by being throw into the lion’s den. Then there was Mary and Marth who sent for Jesus when Lazarus became so sick, and Jesus delayed coming and Lazarus died and all hope was lost. Paul and Silas were thrown into jail for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ with boldness. Each of these people loved God, and were doing their best to serve Him. Each of these people did what Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand that evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Standing strong in their faith in God did not bring about the desired result. In fact, their belief in God got them into what seemed like impossible situations. The very definition of impossible is something that cannot be done. Oh, but we serve the God of impossibilities!!! The angel told Mary in Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Jesus was teaching the disciples about the faith that moves mountains and He told them, “And it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.” In Luke 18:27 Jesus also said, “The things which ae impossible with men are possible with God.” God brought all of these men and women out of terrible situations when things seemed hopeless. You may be broke, bruised, discouraged or perhaps see no hope for the situation you have been believing God for, but take heart, take heart, the God we serve will bring you out and deliver you!
It is so easy to fall into the trap of questioning God during those seasons when His ways are not our ways. Each of us believe that Gd exists, and He hears our prayers, but we will all face a situation that makes us feels like God has just abandoned us. Even though we cannot see it, God is working even when there seems to be no way out of the situation, we find ourselves in. And we find ourselves wondering why God had not moved and what good could come out of all this despair. We tend to think that it is always darkest before dawn, when the scientific truth is that it is darkest at midnight and not right before dawn. So, in all honestly, when we think it is as cannot get any darker, we have probably navigated through the hardest part of the trial. If God is a God of light, (and He is), how come He allows such darkness. Darkness represents a time of a new beginning. In Genesis 1 at the end of each day it states “So the evening and the morning were the first day.” The evening and the morning were the second day.” And so on, our little three-year-old granddaughter gets up around 6 and she keeps saying that it is still night and she should still be sleeping, she cannot understand that even though it is dark outside, it is still a new day. Isaiah 43:19 “Behold I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth.” Are you ready for a new day? The new day starts with darkness. The new era of the Church or what some call the church age began in darkness, “At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, and at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice... With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last.” Religion has taught us to believe that darkness is the absence of God when Psalm 97:1-2 states, “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad, let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds ad thick darkness surround Him, righteousness and justice are the foundations of His throne.” Elisha went to bed in 2 Kings 6 to awake and find the enemy army encircled around him. The enemy thought they had him surrounded and he was going down in defeat, what they did not realize was the hill were full of horses and chariots of fire, the angel armies had showed up for battle. We need a new perception, instead of equating darkness with the absence of God, we must grasp that darkness and clouds surround His throne and, in the darkness, God is moving, creating, and His righteousness and justice are the very foundation His throne sits on.
People think that they can do things in evil in the dark and no one will know. Darkness does not conceal evil. The things that are done in darkness, both the physical darkness and darkness as in evil, cannot be hidden from God. Psalm 139:12 “Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but with the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Daniel was one of the greatest intercessors and he stated in Daniel 2:20-22 “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever! For wisdom and might are His! He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding! He reveals the deep and secret things’ He knows what is in darkness and the light dwells with Him.” “Daniel understood that even earthly kingdoms are not exempt from the watchful eye of God and their deeds will be brought to light. God asked in Jerimiah 23:24 “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? Declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? Declares the Lord.” The answer is that no one and no deed can be hidden from the all-seeing eye of God. Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lard are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” “And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give an account.” Hebrews 4:13. The things mankind has done in darkness so no one will see, is not hidden from God, but will be exposed and they will give an account for the things they have done. Not only does God expose those things done in darkness, He holds the perpetrator accountable. “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jesus said in Luke 12:2-3 “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark, will be revealed in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in the inner chamber will be proclaimed on the housetops.”
While it is exciting to know that God is doing new things in the darkness and He is present revealing everything that is done in darkness, the very best reason if for God to get the glory. Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lor, as the waters cover the sea.” When Jesus walked on earth it was the miracles, the signs and wonders, that drew people to Go so the message of repentance and redemption could be shared with them. When we see God show up when it seems darkest and all hope is lost, we will see the glory of God. Jesus told Martha standing at the entrance of the tomb that held Lazarus’s body, “Did I not say to you, that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?” The times and difficulties we find ourselves in will bring God glory if we do not quit. God told Moses something similar in Exodus 14:4 “And I will harden Pharoah’s heart and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharoah and all his host, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” When Moses asked God to show him Hs glory, God told Moses, “I will make all My goodness pass before you.” We are entering into a season when we will see the goodness of God! Romans 8:18 “Ifor I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Instead of dreading obstacles arise, I wonder what would happen if we would stop and ask, “I wonder what glory I am going to see in this storm.” Look at the promise that comes with suffering, when we suffer with Jesus Christ, “and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” Even though we have been living in some hard times on the one hand, I think we are living in exciting times in the spiritual realm. The church is about to have a billion-soul harvest and we have been born for such a time as this.
It is so easy to get distracted with all that is going on around us, that we forget we need to be ready for the end time harvest. Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins and how five did not keep their lamps trimmed and full of oil and they missed the whole entrance into the wedding supper. I so not want to miss out on anything God has planned for me. We should be prayed up, filled up and expectantly listening for our “marching” orders. Isaiah 60:1-3 “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you, ad His glory will be seen upon you. The gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Get ready! We are about to see the glory of God cover the earth! I pray Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches if the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”
Most all of us can quote “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” I think it is easier to quote than to live out. Being human, we tend to see the storm and panic, not fulling trusting God to work everything for our good. If your life was a car, where would Jesus be? Would he be kept in the trunk and taken our when we go to church on Sunday? Is he allowed to sit in the back seat so we can get a glance of Hm in the review mirror? Have you invited Him to sit in the front passenger seat so you can visit with him as you drive? Maybe you are one of the few who has allowed Him to sit in the driver’s seat and navigate, if that is the case, where are you sitting? Are you a backseat driver who wants to tell Jesus how to navigate the journey has designed and planned just for you? Can you trust Him to get you to your destination safely? Sometimes we go a certain way so we can enjoy the view, other times there is danger to be avoided, whatever the reason, will you trust that His ways are higher than your ways and His thoughts higher than your thoughts? If the circumstances are not good yet, then that means God is not done.
Cathy Nesmith P.S. Go Vote!!!!!!!!