From man’s creation in Genesis to the end of time in Revelation, God has set guidelines to follow and barriers not to be crossed. He has shown His mighty, marvelous, majestic, magnificent power to us all in between Genesis and Revelation. God is a loving God. He has made provision for our salvation by sending His Son to lay down His life in order that we might be forgiven of our sins. This isn’t some denominational doctrine, it is the heart and core of the Bible from cover to cover. And not only that, it is the key to our walking victoriously in liberty everyday of our lives. And as we walk this narrow path, we have the Lord God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ, walking along side of us each step of the way to ensure us that we have a pretty awesome future reserved in Heaven. This future is certain if we surrender, if we are faithful, if we conquer and overcome our trials and press into pleasing God no matter what. Victory is assured and our mansion is secured with shouts of acclamations of sheer joy as we walk around our newfound Holy Heavenly Home. So as we turn to the Bible, consider it carefully, believe it thoroughly and practice it diligently.
We may not see God with our natural eyes but when we give our hearts to Him and His Spirit dwells within our souls He will reveal Himself in His Word, by His supernatural power and by touching our hearts and giving us His undeniable blessings and miracles. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1: 3-7)
Adam and Eve were first to be recipients of God’s wrath and power when He stripped away the blessings of how to live in complete tranquility with no worries and no cares. With the progression of mankind, the earth was filled with corruption and violence that prompted God to take action. “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Genesis 6: 12-13) “For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7: 4 & 10-12)
The Lord strategically positions His people where and when He needs them to be at the appointed time for His Kingdom purpose and destiny. It is to show His mighty power to us, to reveal Who He is and what He is capable of doing. With God nothing happens by chance or accident. It is on purpose for a purpose.
Samuel was sent by God to Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be king. Seven of his sons were turned down because God had someone in particular that He wanted as king. It was the little shepherd boy David who was out tending to the sheep. “And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16: 12-13) The anointing is now on David who continued to keep the sheep. He also became the armour-bearer of king Saul whom David would replace as king.
David at a young age is now faced with the challenge to come up against the giant Goliath. “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” (1 Samuel 17: 34-37)
The Lord was indeed with David. He gave David not only courage but also power to come up against a Philistine whom all the men of Israel were afraid of. “And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.” (1 Samuel 17: 49-51 & 54)
David was there for a cause: that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and “… all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17: 47) So we walk into a war like Goliath but we fight like David who was unafraid because He knew that God was with him. That trial turned into glory and triumph. For David, it was the thrill of victory. For Goliath, the agony of defeat! It was an awesome victory to see God’s timing, the power and His accuracy of the stone to the forehead of the enemy.
Our high and privileged calling is to do the will of God in the power of God for the glory of God. Our motivation, aim, passion, loving desire, goal and drive is to please God. Following Him involves more than belief and acceptance of the truth of the gospel, it involves surrendering our lives to the will and purpose of God. We do not live our lives for ourselves, but to Jesus Christ. Some people are okay with the truth as long as it doesn’t correct, affect, change or disturb the way they think, feel, live or act. The real gospel will correct you, affect you, change and disturb you in your sinful or hypocritical state. And then teach you how to feel, live and act the right way, the Word way, God’s way, the only way.
Upon conversion God will provide countless reasons to trust Him. The way we learn “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4: 13), is to get thrown into impossible situations where we feel the crushing pressure and the absolute, total inability and incapacity to change our circumstances and learn the lessons that when our limits have been exhausted we can go beyond our limits because of a strength and supernatural, divine power given to and available to every believer.
We learn it by being in it. We learn it only in that way because if you only listen to it from someone or read it in a book you will never know and have a conviction about the adequacy of Christ in your life until you have experienced it firsthand for yourself. Even amidst challenges remember to look for the blessings that surrounds you. The difficult path brings with it a greater discovery of God. He will never leave us comfortless. Be mindful of the strength He gives, the joy, the relief and also His Words of encouragement. God will show you Himself in some kind of way to get you through your trials. He will give us reasons to praise Him in the storms and on the other side of them.
Moses experienced God’s mighty powers to some pretty incredible degrees. Saved at birth to bring God’s chosen people out of bondage into a land flowing with milk and honey. One of the many manifestations of God’s power was when Moses saw the burning bush. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…” (Exodus 3: 2-8)
As they journeyed on they had to face the plagues that God sent to prove that there was nobody like Him in all the earth. The Passover of coming out of bondage for the children of Israel plays an important role for us in this time in history. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (Exodus 12: 12-14) This took place for them physically but with Jesus it was to be a spiritual matter for us. Blood on the doorpost for them and blood shed at Calvary for us. Thank You Jesus.
The children of Israel were blessed in so many ways including the Red Sea event. “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:” (Exodus 13: 21) Let us remember when our enemy is in hot pursuit of us that God always has a plan in place. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” (Exodus 14: 13-14 & 19-22)
At the command from the Lord, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and it returned to its normal state and their enemies succumbed right there. Not so much as one remained. God turns our burdens into blessings when we are faithful. He wants us to be wise, courageous and motivated. Be grateful for the opportunities to grow in strength and endurance. Face your challenges with faith and determination. You may be a witness to the glory of God just like when He rained down manna from Heaven for His people.
You were created to succeed, designed to win, equipped to overcome, anointed to prosper and blessed to be a blessing. God has called you and is preparing you according to His purpose. The two things in life that you are in total control over are your attitude and your effort. Bad attitudes will cause you to do foolish things in which you will have to suffer for. “Now the Word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before Me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1: 1-3 & 17) Jonah ran but he couldn’t hide from God. He ended up doing God’s will anyway.
Peter’s incredible feat and effort to walk on water as Jesus did when Jesus bade him to step out of the boat teaches us to have faith and nothing is impossible with God. “But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.” (Matthew 14: 27-33)
Some things will test you, break you, challenge you and change you. Let it push you, mold you and force you to become the best version of you. When you feel broken, run to God and let Him repair you. When challenged, step up to succeed. Remember that the tests are not to focus on your weakness but to discover our strength through God so that He gets the glory.
When Daniel was in the lion’s den he never prayed for the lions to go away. When Shadrach Meshach and Abednego were in the fiery furnace they didn’t pray for the fire to go away. God didn’t save them from the lions in the den or the fire in the furnace, He saved them while they were in the den and in the furnace. God taught them in the midst of it. God will deliver you and give you the victory through your problems. He shows up in the situation to bring glory to Himself. We experience His goodness in them and through them. “Who is like unto Thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15: 11) God is flawlessly perfect in His divine being. There are no failures or mistakes in His character or actions.
May the greatest obsession of our minds, the passion of our hearts and the ambition of our actions always be to know Him, to love Him, to follow Him and to reflect Him. It is important to get into the Word and get the Word into you. Master the Word and be mastered by the Word. Learn it, live it, love it. “Teach me, O LORD, the way of Thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.” (Psalm 119: 33)
Dear God, let my thoughts exalt You, let my words worship You and let my life honor You for the Red Seas You have parted, for the giants You’ve slain, for the many enemies You have defeated, for healing, second chances, the miracles, promises fulfilled, impossibilities becoming reality and for being our Way Maker. We can't even count all the blessings that You’ve freely given us.
Lord, may we find You in the midst of whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. “That men may know that Thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” (Psalm 83: 18) You are and will forever be the Lord God Almighty.