“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” ( Hebrews 11:1).
Something puzzling yet certain is that sometime believers are faced with circumstances where the odds seem overwhelming. This is not unique. Moses was faced with a set of overwhelming circumstances, starting with the uphill battle of convincing a hardened king to release the Israelis. Then he had to move with a restless crowd through a harsh desert that was quick to loose faith after facing set backs.
The Apostle Paul, too, survived a shipwreck and was often beset with betrayals and imprisonment. And then Abraham aged in years without a child, for his wife Sarah when she heard God promising so, she had as many doubts, as she looked at her bodily circumstances.
About circumstances, so often they threaten to pose like there are impossible to overcome. But from God’s angle, any circumstances are just temporal and quite powerless. There is always a greater force to overcome any circumstances.
For all his might once Moses turned to God the opposition which Pharaoh set before him melted away. The Apostle Paul was delivered through shipwrecks and imprisonment as God came to his rescue. At the appointed time, in spite of all the doubts of Sarah who had seen her body age and lost hope, God came through and enabled her to deliver a son. “Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him” ( Genesis 21:2)
Any of us may be faced with circumstances where the odds appear insurmountable. From a physical angle we are as good as finished. It could be a health care crisis. There are financial challenges that seem insurmountable. It might be opposition welling up against one’s professional progress. Sometimes people face tussles with powerful neighbors over land and other relational issues.
When we are faced with whatever circumstances, we should know there is always a greater power that can make any moot. Life is not all about what is seen by the naked eye. As believers we must not let circumstances dictate our lives with doubts and disbelief, but rather turn to God, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20)
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, faced with circumstances that seem overwhelming I know you are able and greater than any force around me and so I am rested for through you I have overcome, this I pray in Jesus name!
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17/05/2024 - 18/05/2024 All day“And I in righteousness I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (Psalm 17:15)
One of the defining aspects we see in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He began the day with prayer. “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). As he was always surrounded by crowds and after such a busy day before of preaching and engaging the Pharisees in debates this must have been a therapeutic moment for Christ when he would have some good time to himself.
But there was also more. For Jesus being away in a secluded place would also mean a chance to pour out His heart to God, meditate in quietness, plan for the day ahead and listen to the Father. Jesus must have looked up to this moment every day knowing its benefits. Conversations with His Father must have been real and intimate, bringing a certain soothing and uplifting of His spirit. You do not wake up and stick to something on a daily basis that is a drag – this must have been his best time of the day!
Martin Luther the leader of the protestant reformation is reputed to once have said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Here is the point. In the olden days before the arrival of locomotive transport those who were setting out for a long journey on foot had to start early with the first cock crow before the punishing sun came out. One of the things they had to start with also was a good meal, which was fuel needed to give them energy through the long walk to their destiny.
There are no rules about waking up to pray as first thing- or even saying prayer at a defined hour of the day. God is everywhere and ever with us. He is accessible at any time of the day. But there is something special about prioritizing our lives that the first thing we do is to talk to God. Just like the early traveller we need fuel, for the long day ahead!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a joy and privilege to make time at the start of any day, talk and hear from you, for the power I need through the day, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
