Pastor’s Corner: “Way Maker”
Isaiah 43:19 – “…I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
He will make a way where there seems to be no way. In the toughest of situations this seems to be God’s specialty. God has it all figured out so we don’t have to worry. He’s working on our behalf even when we can’t see it all and He has a plan and purpose in whatever we walk through. He can cut a clear pathway through anything. And in seemingly hopeless situations where we can’t see any way out, God’s power has the opportunity to shine the greatest. It’s in those times where we come to the end of ourselves, where we know we can’t depend on our own abilities, anything we have, or anyone we know that we are reminded that we are totally and completely reliant on Him. And it’s those times that are the most powerful of all.
The Christian life is a journey of faith, a pilgrimage toward the “Promised Land” God has prepared for us. Just as He promised the Israelites, the Lord wants to bring us into “a good land”: Deuteronomy 8:7-10 – The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.
But, as happened with the Israelites, sometimes we hit what seems like a brick wall on the way to our Promised Land. In their case, the “wall” was actually a body of water known as the Red Sea. And to make matters worse, Pharaoh was pursuing them from behind with fierce warriors mounted on chariots. After more than 400 years of slavery in Egypt, God’s people were finally on their way to a new land. Yet now they were hemmed in by the sea on one side and Pharaoh’s army on the other side.
What could they do? … 1. Go back. The people grumbled to Moses that they never should have left Egypt in the first place: “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:12). 2. Stand still. Moses responded : Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today…The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace (vs. 13-14). The Israelites shouldn’t be afraid. The Lord wanted to fight on their behalf and while they were still, they could listen for the Lord’s instructions. 3. Go forward. Amid this crisis, God told His people to do something that seemed quite impossible: “Tell the children of Israel to go forward…And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (vs. 15-16). Instead of looking back toward Egypt or being stuck at the edge of the Red Sea, God told them to press forward toward their Promised Land!
He can make a way through the wilderness and cause streams to rise up, bringing refreshing even in the desert times. He can split the seas, move mountains or any barrier before us and allow us to walk through on dry ground. He can conquer any giant and bring victory to His children. He can close the mouths of lions, providing safety. He can open prison doors setting us free. He can protect us from the flames of adversity. He can carry us through any storm. He’s the God of miracles and He never changes. For He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In His Grace
Pastor Hamilton