The opportunity made sense. It fell right in line with the direction that God was taking us, so we were excited about it. We were hopeful, but we were also prayerful. We prayed for favor, but we also asked for His protection. We wanted Him to protect His promise…to protect His plan…to ensure that we remained on the path that He has for us. Because, although we wanted the opportunity, we wanted Him even more. And so, as we pursued the opportunity, we prayed that He would keep the door closed, if it wasn’t His will for us. And that is exactly what He did. The opportunity fell through, and although we were grateful, a sense of disappointment fell over us.
The opportunity seemed like the only way.
At times, the vision of God can feel impossible to attain. It’s hard to make sense of it with our natural minds. But in our humanity, we try to figure it out anyway. We try to plan how we will get there. And this is where our disappointment stemmed from. This opportunity, and others like it, seemed like the only path to our promise. But, not even a day later, we received another opportunity…one that came out of nowhere…one that only He could have brought to pass.
We thought we knew the only way, but God said, “There’s another way.”
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT)
God’s ways are far beyond anything that we imagine! This is something that we must continually remind ourselves. When we try to make sense of things, and when we try to figure out the plan, we end up putting God in a box….we end up limiting His power to what makes sense in our minds. And this is a problem. We can’t see what He sees. We can’t think like He thinks. Our minds will never be able to imagine the plans that He has for us.
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT)
If we are going to see the amazing things that God has for us, we must take the limits off.
We must take off the limits that stem from our own minds, our own opinions, and our own plans. And we must take off the limits that other people have placed on us as well. This is how we give God unlimited access to our lives. This is when we see things change. This is when the impossible becomes possible.
When we don’t see a way, we must remind ourselves that He has already made a way.
This is where our faith comes in. Remember, when we walk in faith, we are making the decision to no longer rely on what we can see. Instead, we are trusting fully in the word that God has spoken over us, regardless of the facts…regardless of whether or not it makes sense.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)
God’s not looking at our situation confused. He’s not in heaven trying to figure out the plan. His word says that He already knows the plan. When we make the decision to trust in Him, He leads us in the plan that He has already established.
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)
I just want to pause for a moment…so that we can really take this in. Our God has already designed a plan for each one of us…this means that He knows the end goal. But not only does He know the end goal, He has already laid out a path for us to get there. So why do we worry how we will get there? Why do we panic in the sight of uncertainty? Why do we strive to figure it out for ourselves?
I will be the first one to admit that I do all of these things. I worry. I panic. I strive. But at some point, I have to remind myself of the God that I serve. He is my provider, my protector, my deliverer, and my guide. He has never left me, and He will never leave me. Why would He bring me here, if He didn’t have a plan to get me to my promise?
God always finishes what He starts.
I don’t know your story. I have no idea what God has started in you, and I have no idea where He has brought you from, but I want you to ask yourself this question:
Why would God bring me out of that place, if He didn’t have a plan to bring me into my promise?
In the book of Exodus, we read about God bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt. Their prayers had finally been answered. They were finally free. I’m sure they were relieved. I’m sure they felt safe. I’m sure they were full of faith…until they ran into a problem. They were trapped. Their enemy on one side, and the Red Sea on the other. And instead of relying on the One that saved them, they completely panicked. But, I wish they had asked themselves this question:
Why would God save us, and bring us out of Egypt, if He didn’t have a plan to lead us to the promised land?
On one hand, their fear is understandable. They were being chased by the people that had enslaved them for generations, and there was nowhere to go. But on the other hand, they had just finished watching God perform miracle after miracle. He proved that there was nothing beyond His reach; yet, they were afraid. At the end of the day, they could only believe what their eyes could see. The only problem is that God is not limited to our eyes. He is not limited to our minds. He can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it.
Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side! (Exodus 14:21-22 NLT)
If there is no way. He will make a way.
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)
God wants to do something new in the earth. He wants to do something new in your life…something you’ve never seen before…something that no one has ever seen before. But if you are to experience it, you must take the limits off.
There’s just one more story that I want to share with you. It’s found in the book of Genesis.
So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears. But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. (Genesis 21:14-19 NLT)
Hagar was in despair. It seemed that her only child would die of thirst, and there was nothing that she could do about it. But, the God that had a plan for them…the God that had never left their side, showed up! He opened her eyes. He showed her that He had made a way where there seemed to be no way.
I studied this story over the past week, and I noticed something remarkable. The scripture didn’t say that God miraculously placed a new well in front of them. Instead, it says that God opened Hagar’s eyes. This means that the well was there all along, but He didn’t allow her to see it until a specific time. When I realized this, I thought about our lives. I thought about how we’re always searching for a way, only to realize that we can’t find a way. And then, I thought that maybe the way is there…we just can’t see it. What if God is waiting for a specific time? This was the case for Hagar, because He could have given her the ability to see the well immediately. And this was also the case for the children of Israel, because God could have parted the Red Sea right off the bat. Instead, He intentionally placed them in a situation where they would be trapped. He intentionally allowed their enemy to believe that they could be overcome. Why? So that He could get the glory out of the situation.
When the people of Israel saw the mighty power that the Lord had unleashed against the Egyptians, they were filled with awe before him. They put their faith in the Lord and in his servant Moses. (Exodus 14:31 NLT)
Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you have a promise from God, and you’ve been trying to figure out how you will get there. And maybe it feels like every possible way is just another dead end. If so, I want to tell you what God told me: “There’s another way.” There’s another door– another path– that He has already prepared for you. I know you can’t see it right now…but you can choose to have faith in Him, regardless of what you see, regardless of what your situation may look like right now. Has He not proven Himself to you before? Remind yourself…where did He rescue you from? Why would He bring you here, just to leave you now? You serve a God that always finishes what He starts. If He rescued you from your pain…from your bondage…from your past, He will certainly lead you into your promised land. He will surely bring glory to His name through your life. Stand on His word. Wait for His promise. And watch as He works miracles before your eyes.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for rescuing me. Today, I have been reminded that you always finish what you start. I have been reminded that as long as I put my trust in you, you will lead me along the path that you have for me. So today, I am making the decision to follow you…regardless of what my situation looks like. Because I know that even when I don’t see a way, you have already prepared a way. And I trust that as I put my faith in you, I will see your glory displayed in my life. I love you, Father. In Jesus name, amen.
Comments