Gospel song writer and artist Don Moen sang ‘God will make a way where there seems to be no way. He works in ways we cannot see. He will be my guide, hold me closer to his side.’ In our Christian walk, we get to some crossroads and we do not know where to turn. We simply realise we cannot make any headway. Yes, we literally get stuck.
That was what happened to Moses not long after he exited Egypt with the Children of Israel on their way to The Promised Land. They got to a point where the Red Sea was ahead of them, the ferocious Egyptian army behind them and two giant mountains on each side. Danger was everywhere and death was staring them in the face.
As long as we live in this world we are to expect unpleasant surprises that the enemy throws on our paths. This would happen because most of us do not put on our spiritual armour when we leave home or when we step into the world arena (Ephesians 6:11-18). Thus we make ourselves vulnerable. Life in this arena is warfare. The devil is out and about fishing for victims as he “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) But don’t you worry, he is not a lion. He’s just faking it. The real lion is Jesus - the Lion of the tribe of Judah!
We are no match for the devil come to think of it; but because Jesus has already defeated him in his own territory, we are walking under the authority that Jesus has given us. Thus we are able to face the devil and put a halt to his operations in our lives. “All power and authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) Jesus said. “In my name they (You and I) will cast out devils.” (Mark 16:17b) We just need to claim what the finished work of our Lord Jesus has brought us by his blood. It is spiritual warfare we are engaged in and it is no child’s play.
Upfront, we would hardly suspect forces at play behind the scenes. I tell you for much of what goes wrong in our lives, the devil has a hand in it. John the Apostle wrote: “Dear friend, I pray that you might enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3 John 2) God wants us saved, healthy and happy; besides he has declared it several times in his word. What really matters is how we allow things to be played out in the landscape of our lives.
In times like these our first reaction is to panic. The thought of resting on the mighty power of our God slips through the windows of our trauma as we proclaim in total desperation. “I’m done!” With such negative declarations, we have literally given ourselves up for dead.
I have called on the Lord countless times when I have found myself in a hotspot completely lost and helpless, without a clue as to how I would have wriggled myself out of such. If God had not made a way for me, and delivered me from it all, I wonder what the outcome would have been. He says in times of trouble, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you did not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
A wollof adage reveals that ‘the wind that got a leaf into a gutter would not be the same one to get it out of there;’ meaning that we can get help from somewhere when in trouble. Where does our help come from asks the psalmist? And he gives the answer, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2)
God made a way for all the patriarchs, and still makes a way for all his servants because he has promised he will never leave them nor forsake them.
Our God is steadfast, he will never change. He assures us not only to show us the way but to be our way. “I am the WAY, and the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)