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Category: God’s Power

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The Israelites were slow learners. They had witnessed many signs and miracles attesting to the power of God, and yet they still had trouble believing. Exodus 7:14-11:10 recounts the ten plagues that God brought on Egypt to convince Pharoah to let the Israelites go. God led them out of Egypt, and yet when they got to a place where they appeared to be trapped on all sides (Exodus 14:2-3) they forgot that they could rely on the power and the love of God. We do the same thing all too often.

When the Israelites felt the Egyptians closing in on them, they became afraid and cried out. But they did not cry out for help in prayer to God; they cried out in sarcasm and complaint against Moses. (Exodus 14:11-12) They would rather continue to live in slavery to the Egyptians than to face the unknown and trust God to keep His word and bring them to the land He had promised them. (Exodus 13:5)

What was Moses’ response to this outcry? He comforted and encouraged them. He told them not to be afraid, and that God would surely deliver them. God would fight for them; they needed only to be still. (Exodus 14:13-14) The end of verse 14 has been translated a few ways that give a slightly different interpretation. The NET Bible says, “and you can be still”. This is a privilege: you don’t have to worry or fret; everything is taken care of. The New Living Translation says, “Just stay calm.” The New Revised Standard Version says, “you have only to keep still”. Other versions say that they needed to be quiet or silent. In any case, the Israelites just needed to stand there and keep their mouths shut. It doesn’t really seem like so much to ask, considering the solution that the situation called for, but you can bet that it was a challenge for them.

There are other passages in the Bible that tell us that we must be prepared, and that we need to not be lazy, but to earn our own way. (Proverbs 21:31, Proverbs 24:27, Proverbs 24:33-34, II Thessalonians 3:11-12) How do we know when we need to act or just wait on the Lord? The key, I think, is where we have put our attention. If we are focused on God instead of our circumstances, He will guide us, and He will give us peace. If we have ended up in a situation through our own bad choices, we need to ask Him for mercy and forgiveness, but if He has brought us into a situation, we can be sure that He already knows the way out. We need to trust Him. Remember that Peter was able to walk on water as long as he was concentrating on Jesus, but as soon as he started thinking about the strong wind, he began to sink. (Matthew 14:28-30) As my friend Ann Mainse would say, “Keep your eyes on Jesus; it’s all about Him.”

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“My grace is sufficient”, Christ says. Sometimes I repeat this promise over and over to myself. Some days I need it more than others. We find this promise in II Corinthians 12:7-9. The apostle Paul had prayed three times that God would remove a thorn from his flesh. It is never specified what this thorn actually was, whether it was a physical ailment, temptation, opposition from his enemies or anything else. Perhaps it was not specified so that we would feel free to apply the principle to our own thorns. No matter what our trial is, God’s grace is sufficient.

According to Paul, the thorn was a tool of Satan to make him suffer, but in the end God used it for good, just as he had with Joseph. (January 31, 2011) God didn’t answer Paul’s prayer the way he had wanted it answered, but God did answer, and He gave Paul something better. Paul was given the power of Christ, the grace of Christ, to endure whatever struggle he was going through. Just because God doesn’t take our suffering away, doesn’t mean that He doesn’t have the power or that He doesn’t care, or that as some think, He doesn’t exist. Sometimes there is a purpose for our suffering, a greater good, even if we can’t always see it.

In the garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was facing death on the cross, He also prayed three times for the Father to spare Him from the pain. But He endured death on the cross because He knew that the Father had a greater purpose. He endured it with joy (Hebrews 12:2), not because He wanted to go through such torture, but because He trusted God to do what was best.

In Paul’s case, the constant thorn in his side was a reminder that he couldn’t accomplish his ministry as effectively, if at all, without the power of God working through him. If Paul had been able to do everything in his own strength he would have become arrogant, and I think it’s safe to say that many of the rest of us would as well. Paul’s thorn kept him humble, and it kept him relying on the grace of God. What is God teaching you through your thorns? If you don’t know, ask Him. Instead of complaining about your struggles, ask God what He wants you to learn from them. Ask Him what He will do through you because you have surrendered yourself to Him. By all means, ask Him to take the pain away too, but realize that He might have a reason for leaving you in it.

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“When the world says you’re not good enough, get a second opinion.” These words were spoken by Nick Vujicic, a man who was born without arms and legs, and who now spends his time travelling around the world speaking to audiences that range from high school students to prisoners. He tells them how much God loves them and how valuable they are in God’s eyes. (Nick’s website is: http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org)

In Psalm 139:17-18, David cannot fathom how much God cares for him. Think about this. The creator of the universe cares for each one of us so much that we could not possibly count the number of thoughts He has about us. You might think that those thoughts were just for David, because after all God chose David to be king, and David was a man after God’s own heart. Perhaps you think that these verses don’t apply to you. They do. So many other verses in the Bible reinforce this point. (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5, I John 4:10, Romans 5:8, II Thessalonians 2:16, Romans 5:5, I John 3:1, Romans 8:38-39)

The psalmist elaborates in Psalm 139:1-16 how well and intricately God knows him. This is how He knows us too. God is aware of everything you do, everywhere you go, every word you say. He is with you each step of the way, and He is there to steady and guide you (verse 10). He knew you before you were born, and He is the one who formed you in your mother’s womb. (Jeremiah 1:5) He knows us this well, better than we know ourselves, and yet He still loves us. Realizing all this prompted David to give thanks to God. (Psalm 139:14) We might not always understand how awesome and amazing God is. We might not be able to get our heads around His power that is so much greater than ours, but even then God is with us every step of the way, and we should remember to thank Him for it.

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There are so many scary things happening in our world lately: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes erupting, civil wars, governments being overthrown…. It is not surprising that people would be afraid, but the encouragement of II Timothy 1:7 came to my mind. I think we need to understand what is meant by fear in this verse. There is certainly a place for being cautious when we are facing dangerous situations, but we also need to be brave and trust in God’s power. Words like “Fear not” and “Be strong and courageous” are used often throughout the Bible. (Matthew 14:27, Luke 1:30, John 6:20, Jeremiah 1:8, Deuteronomy 31:23, I Corinthians 16:13)

When Paul wrote to Timothy, it was not in the context of natural disasters or political upheaval; he was exhorting him and encouraging him not to be timid or cowardly when facing people who would disagree with his ministry. In II Timothy 1:5 Paul expresses his confidence in Timothy’s faith, then in II Timothy 1:6 reminds him to make use of the gifts that God has given him. Paul knew that the spirit of fear did not come from God. This wasn’t just a theory for Paul; he had been through enough trials (II Corinthians 11:24-33) that it would have been perfectly understandable for him to be afraid. Instead he relied on the power of God.

You, too, have access to God’s power. That doesn’t mean that you won’t face hardships; it means that you have a source of strength and courage to get through them. If God has called us to do something, He will give us everything we need to do it. (Philippians 4:13). He desires for us to rely on Him. (Psalm 27:14) As Paul told Timothy, there is no need to be afraid.

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There are some people who think that God is love, and that He cares for everyone. Others think that God is a big meanie, living up in the heavens, ready to destroy us if we do anything wrong. The truth encompasses both.

Nahum 1:1-8 recounts Nahum’s prophecy against the city of Nineveh, declaring that it would be destroyed. The chapter starts out by telling us that God is zealous and angry, and He is going to pour out His rage on His enemies. Some translations use the term jealous which is a character of God that some find hard to understand. God is jealous in a way that a parent would be for a child: protective of His children and His authority.

In the midst of this passage is Nahum 1:7 which tells us that God is good and will protect those who take refuge in Him. Because God is good and just, He cannot withstand evil forever, but He is merciful. He will protect His own, those who choose to repent, but He will judge those who choose to remain His enemies. God does not have a bad temper, a short fuse as it were; He is slow to anger. (Nahum 1:3, Exodus 34:6, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13) He is not willing that any should perish. (II Peter 3:9) He is omniscient and knows right from wrong, and He would like us all to do the right thing, but He gives us a choice. And for those of us who choose to repent, God’s goodness is the best news of all. He will protect those who put their trust in Him. That is why Nineveh had to be destroyed, because God was protecting the people of Judah from the Assyrians. The people of Judah had to endure the trial for a time, but God was on their side. He is on our side too, and the trials that we face will be only for a time. Nahum predicted both judgement and hope. Which you receive depends on your response to God.

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David Teems, author of Majestie: The King Behind the King James Bible, has said, “God is not in the business of explaining things. He’s not obligated to explain anything to us. But we live in a generation today where we feel like we’re entitled to an explanation.” Yes, wouldn’t it be nice if God would let us in on His plan and tell us what our role is in it? Decision-making would be so much easier. Deuteronomy 29:29 lets us know that that won’t happen. God has all the answers, and He only gives us some of them. Sometimes He gives us answers in the form of thoughts or knowledge, but He most certainly gives us answers through the Bible. Because we have access to His Word, we have become responsible for the information that it contains.

Proverbs 25:2 indicates that we (even though we aren’t kings) should not only feel free, but obligated to search out the truth, to find the answers, to investigate the best way of doing things. The title of Proverbs 25 tells us that these proverbs were collected by King Hezekiah, so it is natural that he would be concerned about the responsibility of kings to lead and govern their people. Today, however, we are all required to lead and govern our own lives, and the wisdom of this passage is just as valid for us. Investigate, study and learn what it is that you can know, but realize that you can’t know it all. If we could know all that God knows, He wouldn’t be God. We can know enough, however, to have faith in His trustworthiness.

The passage in Deuteronomy says that we have this information so that we might obey God’s laws. James 4:17 tells us that because we know what is good, we are obligated to do it.

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Do you ever feel like God doesn’t answer your prayers?  I do.  Particularly lately, I feel like He is ignoring my requests for pain relief.  Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us that He is able to do so much more than we could ask or imagine.  So, if that’s the case, why doesn’t He heal me?  Perhaps because He is doing something beyond my imagination.  Perhaps He has a better plan in mind.  I can’t conceive what that might be, but isn’t that what this verse is all about?

In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul makes some pretty bold requests—essentially that we would have the power and knowledge of Christ within us, and in fact have Christ Himself within us.  Yet, Paul believed not only that God was able to accomplish this, but that He was (and since it is in the present tense, still is) able far beyond Paul’s (or our) expectations.  Even though Paul seems to be asking a lot, he is in fact not asking too much.  We cannot ask too much of God, because whatever we think to ask is well within His power.  That does not mean that we will always get things just the way we ask for them.  God has purposes beyond what we could imagine as well, and we know that His purposes for us are good.  (Romans 8:28, Matthew 7:11)  God wants to give us good gifts, but He also wants us to be humble, and to bring Him the glory.  He wants our requests to be made according to His will.  (John 15:7, John 14:13-14)

The beginning of Ephesians 3:20 talks about the power that is working within us.  If we allow Christ to work through us, and in us, we will be much more effective.  God’s desire is to make us more like Jesus, and in order to accomplish this, we need to do things His way.  I know that it isn’t easy to give up control, but if we give it to God, life can be so much better than we imagine.  God’s grace and mercy and love and power will never run out.  They are infinite, not limited by our finite minds.  His goodness to us will not change; we just need to be willing to accept it, and to allow Him to have the praise and the glory.  God sees the end from the beginning and we can trust that He has our best interests at heart.