BREAKTHROUGH TIMING
This chapter, like so many of the previous ones was so wonderful. This is by far one of the best books I have read in a long while. No, the contents of this chapter did not come to pass. I have not been healed. I did not get a job offer. I am not engaged. However, this chapter on God's timing was very encouraging. There are four responses the author says: never, always, at certain times, and not now. The author's primary text is found in Exodus:
"A most dramatic moment in Old Testament history well illustrates these principles. The Israelites had just left Egypt after the Lord had delivered ten plagues on their enemy. Following the desert road that led to the Red Sea, they had camped at its edge. But Pharaoh, who had let them go with great reluctance, changed his mind once again, pursuing them into the desert with a host of chariots and soldiers.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in
Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
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 the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground" (Exodus 14:10-16).
GOD'S NEVER WORDS
This was the first spiritual test God's people faced after their emancipation. As Pharaoh's army drew near, they panicked, blaming Moses for delivering them in the first place. It would have been better to have stayed in Egypt as slaves, they reasoned, than to face Pharaoh's chariots with their backs to the sea. Convinced this was the end, they regretted believing in the word of the Lord delivered through Moses. Gone was their memory of how God had powerfully vindicated Moses by raining down plagues of blood, insects, and illness on their Egyptian captors. Gone, too, was their memory of the Passover night, when their children were spared and the Egyptians' children taken. In their moment of crisis, the Israelites couldn't muster an ounce of faith in the God who had already proven his love and faithfulness.
It was in this setting that they heard one of the Lord's most important never words, a word that applies to us
"Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). It doesn't matter how many chariots pursued the Israelites then or how many terrorist cells plot mayhem today. Fear is never an option for the children of the living God.
When we ignore God's word, "Do not be afraid," we sadden the Spirit of God and forfeit the blessings he intends for us. In fact, fear is far worse than diseases like cancer or AIDS, because they only attack the body while fear assaults the soul. In times of doubt and anxiety, Christians must distinguish themselves by their faith and fearlessness. You may protest when looking at ominous headlines or shaky financial markets and wonder, "How can we not be afraid?" Instead of letting the news control your emotions, read what the Bible declares:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging (Psalm 46:1-3)."
Fear assaults the soul. I know what the Bible says about fear and the many times God says "do not fear". Yet, when circumstances look bleak, fear becomes instinctual. I did not have much fear today. Today has been a fear-neutral day so far. I was with my parents for their 38th wedding anniversary lunch and eating out tends to be a calming and enjoyable activity. I also took a afternoon nap that was quite restful. Having rest and spending quality time with others tends to reduce fear and anxiety. Yet, my health condition is the same today as it was yesterday. Some days I have quite a bit of fear. Not just about my health condition but about my singleness, joblessness and lack of purpose. I worry if God will come through.
"To live in fear is much a disobedience to God as stealing or lying.
We wonder why the Israelites had so little faith. But how big is our own faith when a crisis occurs? Do we remember that God loves us with an everlasting love; that he sent his only Son to pay the price for our sins; that he made costly provision for our pardon, cleansing, and eternal salvation; that our Savior has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven; that he has sent the Holy Spirit as our comforter and given us precious promises backed by his own great faithfulness? Since God has done all that for us, why should we be afraid even if "the mountains fall into the sea"?
While making it clear that we must never be afraid, Moses conveyed another of God's imperatives to the people: "Stand firm and you will see the deliverance [of] the Lord" (Exodus 14:13). God's people must always stand firm in faith no matter what happens around them. The basic truth of salvation is that "the righteous will live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). This same faith should characterize our daily life in Christ. Faith brings stability in times of uncertainty while unbelief causes vacillation. The apostle Paul wrote words to the believers in Corinth that still apply to us today: "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13)."
The never word is never fear. The always word is stand firm. Never fear. Always have faith. Yet, how difficult is it to believe as simple as it sounds. God has done so much for us in the past just like with Israel and the mighty destruction He caused on their enemies. Yet, when the moment came that they were stuck between the sea and an army, they began to fear for their lives. This was a moment in which they were called to trust. We too are called to trust God with our lives even when it does not make any sense. Right now, I too feel so stuck with my life in every possible area, health, employment, ministry, singleness. Everything appears very impossible. Years of having dreams of work, ministry, family, and purpose are still so unrealized today. Moving 3000 miles away and enduring frozen winters for two years in going for more education in social work has not resulted in me having the opportunity to help people. At 31, I still have no sense of breakthrough in my life.
"During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:9-10).
Breakthrough timing is all about knowing the exact will of God at a given moment. The Lord doesn't expect us to try to understand his plan for our lives merely by relying on our limited intelligence. He has sent the
Holy Spirit to guide our steps in Whenever people are the paths he has marked out for willing to be led, the Lord us. We are not talking about is faithful to reveal what resolving moral questions, but they should do at any about making important decisions particular moment, at life's crossroads."
In Acts 16 we find Paul being prevented to go in several directions and then in the night he receives this dream. God speaks to Paul to lead him to where he should go in his ministry. Likewise, The Holy Spirit enables us to know which direction to go. For me, I have had three unsuccessful job interviews since I got back, all were for bilingual social work positions locally. I just about exhausted all the agencies that serve minorities in the area. I feel like Paul when he tried going in each direction but was prevented. So far, God has not opened any doors. The time of waiting can be very hard.
"The last part of our Bible story is the most unusual of all. Rarely do we read of God telling someone to stop praying, but that is exactly what happened.
Then the Lord said to Moses, " Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground" (Exodus 14:15-16).
Prayer is precious to the Lord, a fact that makes this passage all the more striking. Moses was doing a noble thing, but God directed him to stop. He wanted Moses to do something better—to act in faith so that God could deliver his people from Pharaoh's army."
This comment comes on the final section called not now. God tells Moses to stop praying and to raise his staff. What would happen at that point would be God providing the greatest miracle recorded in the OT and the massive salvation often remembered today. Sometimes God says to stop praying because He will provide the answer but it involves some action on our part. God could have still provided, but it only happened when Moses raised his staff in faith. The chapter closes with a man who had been a severe drug addict. By an act of grace, he recovered and was saved. He had a burden to help people with drug addictions. For a long time his dream did not come to pass.
"Still, George kept praying for direction, determined to break through the bureaucratic inertia and ineffectiveness of the government programs for which he worked. His efforts met with only disillusionment and disappointment. Why wasn't God answering his prayers for help?
George's last assignment was as an aftercare worker at the Boston City Methadone Clinic. There was only one problem: There was no aftercare. George worked for several months without even one client because addicts simply came to the clinic to secure their supply of methadone, a synthetic addictive drug used to replace heroin. When he finally did get a client, it was someone who was new to the program and needed help filling out government forms. George spent six hours helping him fill out the required stack of paperwork. That was it.
George had gone into social services to help people, but he felt as if he wasn't making a difference. Had he mistaken God's call on his life, missed some sign from heaven that would have directed his steps another way? Though George didn't realize it at the time, his fervent prayers had been answered, but with a not now word from God. Everything that had happened in George's life was preparation for what he would be doing in the future.
God was about to act. Lie began by placing a desire in George's wife's heart that soon caught fire in his heart as well.
George Rosado, the former junkie, had married Grace, the pastor's daughter. Together they established New Life, a ministry that has been helping hundreds of hurting women in New England and elsewhere for more than twenty-five years.
If you happened to be in New Hampshire and dropped by to see George and Grace, you would see that the ministry is located in a spacious house. Every morning the women who live there gather for a Bible study, and among them sits Farah, the young woman from Haiti whose life had once seemed so hopeless. Three lives that God touched with his grace have come together in a marvelous way.
There are more wonderful things to come that we can't even imagine. Beautiful, life-changing breakthroughs are what God is all about."
Prayer:
Father, beautiful, life-changing breakthroughs are what You are all about. Like George, Like Paul, I feel stuck. I am in that period and season when I don't know what to do and none of my dreams seem to happen. Father, You gave me an amazing dream last night. I was walking with my walker and all of a sudden You healed me and I did not need it anymore. In fact, I carried my walker and walked normally, running at times. I felt each sensation. In my dream I felt the sensation of walking normally, something I have not done in over three months. It was like the Acts 3 passage of the cripple man being healed and then he was totally overjoyed and praising God. I cling to that passage in prayer and to this dream You gave me as I continue to pray for healing. So many other areas of my life I feel stuck including my singleness, career, and ministry. I don't have any sense of direction in these areas no matter how many times I try. I feel worry and You call us to never fear. You say stand firm and yet I doubt. I long to experience You as my provider and guide. I need Your power and presence in my life. Father, I ask for breakthrough in my healing, in my life-direction, and in my singleness.
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