God Will make a WAY . . . . Part-2. . . .

Life begins with a Heartbeat……..

I love listening to Country. To understand country and what the songs are about one would need to have a softer side to their heart that yearns (desires) to be in the green valleys and yonder (beyond).

I grew up knowing and loving country music. You can put up all your collections together, but country music can never be compared to any other. Its simple, it’s heartfelt and it always has a message. Aint nothing better than that?

So why am I writing about country music. It’s Simple. On the 2nd of November, after the 7:30 p.m. mass, I heard the choir practise to the hymn of 'Why me Lord?’

All through the good times and the hard times I kept singing Kris Kristofferson’s version of ‘Why me Lord’.

lord help me Jesus,
i've wasted it so help me Jesus,
i know what i am,
but now that i know,
that i needed you so help me Jesus,
my souls in your hand,

This is the paragraph that I could sing by myself. I would sing this in my hardest of times. Jesus never left me for a second. When the pain would get to the extreme, and my heart could take no more, I would sing calling to Jesus.

As humans we can be pretty selfish-only to see our side of the pain. Pardon me for being blunt, but some of us don’t have the time, to want to understand others. And some of us don’t even care, because it is somebody else. The attitude is-if it’s not about me, why get bothered?

And some others, do the best they can, they try.

But God is not like us. See He thought about us even before time. He sent His only Son Jesus. Do you think, from Jesus point of view, praying (in the garden of Gethsemane)- to His Father-Who is the Powerhouse, and who has chosen His only son to be crucified-could be in any way easy-or could it be the easiest of prayers? No. Every son, expects that when His Father, is in postition to come rescue Him. But here is Jesus, knowing what His Fathers will is, knowing all that is to happen prays to His Father, and knows the answer and still chooses to pray. Many times our pride comes before us. We need to imitate Jesus.

Do you think that for Jesus to come as a human-was the easiest of missions? Do you think that for Jesus it was easy to choose to do His Fathers will knowing that His journey was-one of turmoil, humiliation, mock treatment and one that would end with being treated as the worst of criminals?

Think for a moment, how difficult it is to leave a prestigious position and be any one of the commoners? If it is so difficult to think, how really hard it must be in action?

I have heard people really talk big, but when action is required, I watch them run the marathon.

I shudder to think of how Jesus, was whipped? Do you know when you have an open wound, how when anything and everything you do seems to hurt that part so much? It bruises that part of the skin even more as it is wounded and even more susceptible (prone) to more hurting. Jesus was flogged over and over and each time on the same wound over and over. Would you imagine the pain?

Jesus hurts when we hurt, He hurts when we hurt others. We are all connected. We all have one thing in common. A HEARTBEAT. . . .

I know change is a vital part of life. I am open to change. The easiest part is speaking it-but really when You keep God first place-Change is what GOD brings about in your life with all His Wisdom. I avoided waking early in the mornings for work because that did not favour an asthma condition. But now I get to be with Jesus every evening. And my health is getting better.

Would you take a walk with Jesus? Would you understand Him? JESUS waits for you always to the end of time.

maybe lord,
i can show someone else,
what i've been through myself,
on my way back to you,

Jesus, my soul's in your hands

We all have heartbeats.

Every heartbeat of mine, sweet Jesus belongs to YOU!

Life begins and ends with a heartbeat. Question is in this lifetime what does your heartbeat say?

God’s already made plans to see to it that all of your needs are met! Every problem, every circumstance, He already has a plan for you to work it out. Why? Because of His great love for you!

Think about the biblical examples and God’s providence. Moses’ mamma didn’t put him in a basket of the Nile River by accident. God knew that Pharaoh’s daughter would be coming along at just the right time! He didn’t ask Abraham to offer up Isaac without already having planned for a ram to be stuck in the bushes for the sacrifice. God instructed Noah to build an ark long before it ever rained so that he would have a ship in which to save his family. There are no surprises with God! He knows the pressures you’ll face long before you ever get there. And He also has the answers!

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

You may be facing a dead end right now — but if you will trust God and keep on moving in faith, even when you don’t see a way, He will make a way.

It will become more understandable as you head down the path He sets before you.

Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day”. One day you will stand and view the big picture and you’ll see God’s purpose behind the path He specifically chose for you.

Be patient. God knows what He’s doing. God knows what is best for you. He can see the end result. You can’t. All those problems, heartaches, difficulties and delays — all the things that make you ask “why” — will one day be clear in the light of God’s love.

But for now, lets learn to trust God.

Isaiah 43:16 Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters...
God introduces Himself as the God who makes a way. 

So let’s start with the context of the passage before moving on to what it means for you and me.

"I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters... Isaiah 43:15-16

Isaiah, the prophet foresaw a time of great difficulty for the Israelites – a time when they would be captives to their enemies. As the years in exile became many decades, the great question to the Israelites was ‘Is there a way out of this difficult time?’ ‘Is there a way home?’ It was to people feeling completely hopeless whose faith was reaching breaking point that God stepped in and spoke.

And as He did He had to re-introduce Himself. Listen to what God says ‘I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel-Your King.’ He begins by reminding them that He is YAHWEH – the great I AM! Maybe you have forgotten that the one Who is on your side is an all-powerful, ever present God ‘who makes a way’? Israel sure had. God reminded them that He is the Creator of Israel. Israel, God’s people, didn’t come into being by accident. It was through the plan and purpose of the eternal God. So the Lord was saying to them in so many words ‘I created you. You are mine. Do you really think that I am going to forget you or let you go?’

‘...Who makes a way through the sea And a path through the mighty waters...’

In verse 16, God reminded the people that He makes a way through the sea. God is reminding them of their past and in particular of a time when there previously seemed like there was no way out. It was the time of the exodus from Egypt when the Israelites faced certain death!

When the Israelites began their journey, God specifically lead them in a path where they would avoid trouble and confrontation. Exodus 13:17-18 tells us ‘When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.’
Did you notice that God made things easy for you when you started to believe? It is often the way as we take our first steps in the Lord. As God did for the nation of Israel as a whole, so He does for His people today.

As Israel’s journey continues, their God ordained path became more difficult and came to a virtual dead end with the sea in front of them and the armies of Egypt behind them! Yet this was all part of the plan of God for He said to Moses ‘They are to encamp by the sea.' Exodus14:1-3
Your journey also will lead to some over-whelming situations where there is no hope – leave it to the action of God. It’s all part of the walk with God.

With no way back and no way forward, God does what God does best - The impossible. He made a way where, naturally speaking, there was no way. ‘Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."... Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.’ Exodus 14:13-14, 21-22

So this is what God wanted the people of Israel in the days of Isaiah to remember. He is STILL the God who makes a way through the sea. Let’s break this thought down a bit further.

The Path of God leads to the Waters

To comfort others you first must have been comforted yourself. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 But all of us will face the waters at some stage. The verse earlier on in Isaiah chapter 43:2 says ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.’

The period of difficulty is not forever. Israel had to walk through the waters but they kept walking. They kept progressing forward. And when the mighty waters rise in your life, you too will get through because God is the one who gets you through.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19

God instructs His people to forget the former things and not to dwell on the past. God wants us to remember the past so that we can bring to mind the previous deliverances and learn from our former mistakes.

We remember... we look forward to what God has promised He will do when He returns and gain hope from that. God was telling them that He is going to do something new and amazing for them in their day. No longer would the children of Israel just have to look back to the stories they had heard from their youth of God’s deliverance during the exodus from Egypt. No. They were going to experience something amazing themselves. He would make a way so that they could return from their exile and provide streams even in the desert. God is alive and interested in the lives of His people - then and now.

You may be in the place right now where you can see the mighty waters rising around you. The trials and difficulties of this life may be coming against you in way that seems like there is no way out. If that is so then please remember that God is  The One who ‘makes a way’. May you too proclaim His praise as you trust Him once again.

There are two very big things you ought to think of every time you consider the story of Joseph and his brothers: *you are loved; and *there is hope!

The story of Joseph teaches us how God transforms pain by perseverance, how He transforms hurt into hope, and sorrow into success.

Joseph’s brothers carried their guilt around for 22 years and it simply wasn’t necessary. God doesn’t want you to try and "manage" your sin. He wants you to seek His forgiveness.

God will make a way by being with you.

Acts 7:9 These sons of Jacob were very jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him.

"God was with him," that’s the key to Joseph’s endurance and resilience. Hard times come to all of our lives but to have God with you in the midst of those hard times makes all the difference in the world!

The presence of God is a tremendously powerful and a wonderful thing!
That’s what God is for us in the tests of life! He is our friend who stands along side of us!
Joseph went through some very difficult tests. Not only did his own brothers turn their backs on him, he was also falsely accused by his master’s wife in Egypt and thrown in prison. But no matter how dark and difficult his path, Joseph wasn’t alone in his suffering. The Bible says, "God was with him!"

You need to practice thinking about the presence of God in your life. You need to remember that if you are His child there is never a time when He is not with you.
Hebrews 13:5 God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never forget you." God is there – right there with you – every step of the way! Nothing can keep Him from walking by your side.

God will make a way by giving you favor, wisdom and opportunity.
The Bible not only says that "God was with Joseph" in Acts 7:9, it says this about Joseph in verse 10:
Acts 7:10  God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of all the affairs of the palace.
"God gave him favor…" "God gave him unusual wisdom," and then the Pharaoh "appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of all the affairs of the palace." That’s how God made a way for Joseph. He gave him favor, wisdom and opportunity.

And God is still doing this today for His people! God makes a way by giving these same things to you.

His forgiveness – His presence – His favour – His Wisdom is what you and I need all our lives. God will make a WAY!

Can you trust God in the fire tonight?  Does anybody know that not only will God deliver you from the fire but He will stand right there in the midst of the fire with you?

Job 13:15 said “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face”. In other words if He take my life, He gave it to me If I have to suffer He can deliver me. Job said yet will I trust in Him but then He said I will maintain my own ways before Him. Job said I’m going to keep on serving Him. Job said if I die, He is able if I live He is able, but what ever happens I’m going to trust Him with all that I am with all that I have. Amen, Amen and Amen.

CONCLUSION: The peace of God is the deep calm. He sees the end from the beginning and views the needs of man from the position of unlimited resources and capabilities. He perceives the needs of His children with both compassion and confidence, for all things are possible for Him.

REMEMBER: The devils against anything and anyone who is for righteousness. He opposes our progress or spiritual growth. While we don’t need to pay an excessive amount of attention to him, we do need to understand his strategies so we can live victoriously.

The Word of God is a powerful weapon we must use to overcome the enemy. We don’t have to strive to get victory – we already have it in Christ.

Here are some great scriptures that confirm this truth:

1 John 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Romans 8:37 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Colossians 1:13 - For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Luke10:19 - I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Our protection is the Word of God. We must love and obey it and use it against the enemy when he comes against us. Just as Jesus responded to the devil by speaking God’s Word, we need to speak out the Word of God against the enemy’s lies. As you do, the truth will set you free!

In the words of Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

PRAYER: Abba Father, everything I am is yours. Keep me always obedient and faithful I pray. Amen.