In The Face Of Difficulty by Judi Jo Adams

In the Face of Difficulty

Is it possible to face difficult situations, yet shine in the face of it all? Absolutely!  As I look in the Word of God at some of the greatest miracles, both Old & New Testament, I have realized that so often they are birthed out of great distress.  It’s true!  Surrounding most of the great miracles that stand out so brightly in the Bible, we can find economic disaster, grave sickness & heavy persecutions. Out of circumstances like these emerge the miracles we preach about.

The examples are endless, just like the widow who had no food in the face of the famine in I Kings 17. What happened on her behalf?  The prophet came to her house &, out of her obedience to give him her last morsels of food, her oil & flour never ran out until the famine ceased.  How about the children of Israel & the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 13?  After an unthinkable amount of years in slavery & after all the plaques that came upon Pharaoh, finally they were free & now this uncrossable sea was before them.  Only God can work a wonder like that in a situation where there is either a miracle or death.  The beauty is that he tells us in Hebrew 13:8 that He is the same yesterday, today & forever.  He did it for them; He will do it for us!

I find this so comforting right now, as we have such a beautiful work in Egypt & those that we love are locked in their homes crying out to God for protection.  As I spoke to our national director for the first time, after the riots had broke out in Cairo, a Spirit of Faith arose in me.  I know that the God who provided for the widow is their God too.  I know that the God who safely led Paul through the city, in the face of angry mobs, is protecting them now.  Regardless of what takes place in any nation at any time, our God never changes & His Word will remain the same.

He told Mary in John 11:40, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God.”  Looking deeper into this passage, such hope springs in my heart.  You see, Lazarus had been dead 4 days.  Mary herself thought it to be impossible & told the Lord that He surely stunk by now.  Amazingly, Jesus found this an opportunity for a miracle… one of the greatest in the Word.  He wasn’t moved by how long Lazarus had been dead or by the reports of the people.  He commanded Lazarus to come out of that tomb & out he came!

These are only the beginning of examples.  There was the feeding of the 5,000 when there was no way to provide for such a multitude.  There were the three Hebrew children who were thrown into the furnace & came out without even a hint of smoke.  Then, there were the lepers who went into the enemy’s camp, only to find that God himself had fought the battle for them.  I could go on & on about the miracles that we see, which all came forth when the situation looked impossible.  After all, Matthew 19:26 says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Yes, He is able to make us shine out of the most difficult situations.  Why?  Maybe it’s because that’s when we finally take our eyes off our trials & whole heartedly but out trust in Him.   Is His requirement for us to have a miracle attainable? Oh, Yes!  He only requires one thing.  “If you believe, you shall see the glory of God.”