God's Proving

When the power of God invades our life, the impossible is about to become possible. We don’t always recognize God’s work in our lives; it often comes in the form of trials and difficulties, not the happy times we have naively grown to expect, or to think we deserve. We may even feel we are entitled to certain amenities of God; things like good health, relationships with family and /or friends, enough money to live comfortably. These things are not too much to expect from God, are they? However, if we are to recognize His power in our lives, we need to see God’s favor at work instead of seeing trials and difficulties when things don’t go as we had planned. God’s word tells us that there will be trials of various kinds and many will suffer according to the will of God! In the epistle of James we read, ‘My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing’ (James 1:2-4).  Peter also wrote, ‘…after you have suffered a little while (the God of all grace) will perfect, strengthen, establish and settle you.’ We want the blessings of God but we tend to reject the trials that go with it. We do not see the power of God in our lives because to us, His work looks more like a pregnant teenager, or a murderer.  This is how the impossible became possible in the life of Mary, the Mother of Jesus and for Moses, the servant of the Living God. This is how the power of God manifests in us as well.

Mary was just a young girl when an angel appeared to her to tell her she had found favor with God and was blessed among women. Who of us would not be excited to hear news like that! News from an angel! We all would love to hear that God is about to bless us and that we have found His favor.  None of us would anticipate what Mary is told next nor are we likely to think of it as a blessing. Mary is told by the angel that she would become pregnant- not by Joseph, the one to whom she is betrothed to be married, but by God Himself!! This sounded more like a reason to fear for her life than God’s favor at work in her life. More than likely, Mary had not pictured in her mind’s eye that this is what the favor of God would look like. Her response to this news is amazing and shows the depth of her faith and her character.  She simply said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be unto me as you have said.”  She believed God could do something great in her life. She believed the angel when he said, “For nothing will be impossible.” The power of God was about to invade her life and the impossible was about to become possible.

Moses was a murderer. He also wrote a good part of the Old Testament scriptures that are contained in the Bible. He was a Hebrew who had been raised as an Egyptian in the home of the Pharaoh. He had become upset by the way he saw a Hebrew slave being treated and ended up murdering the Egyptian. He fled for his life, leaving the home of pharaoh and returning to his own people, the Hebrews, to live as they did. After leaving his boyhood home in Egypt and returning to his own people, Moses had an amazing encounter with God. God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and tells him that his name is I AM. The Hebrew word that we translate to mean I AM is YHWH. The English inserted vowels in the word so that we could pronounce it, but originally it was merely the sound of breath; the sound of breathing; the sound of God breathing His Spirit into man.   Moses grew to know the Lord in a deep, personal way; the way many of us long to know Him.  Moses’ faith was challenged and deepened by the encounters he had with the Living God. With each encounter, God revealed His character to Moses through His many names. It was in the encounter with YHWH at the burning bush that God told Moses that He wanted him to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt into the land of promise. The power of God was about to invade his life and the impossible was about to become possible.

 Jehovah Rophe, the God who heals, was revealing Himself to the children of Israel, by His servant Moses. After the Israelites left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, following Moses to the Promised Land, they came to a place of testing. The water was bitter and so the place was called Marah, which means bitter. They quarreled and cried, wishing Moses had left them in Egypt where they had been slaves to Pharaoh.  The Lord not only provided water for them but manna and quail to feed them. As they continued on the journey, once again they came to a place where there was no water.  The place was called Massah and Meribah, meaning testing and quarreling. And again they began to murmur against Moses.  This place of testing where the water was bitter would prove their faith. They tested the Lord saying, ‘is the Lord among us or not?’ Jehovah Rophe not only healed the bitter water, he became the remedy for the bitterness of the people, all people, through his Son, Jesus Christ. The impossible became possible as they witnessed God’s proving. 

 If we seek to deepen our faith, we must seek to become more faithful as Mary did; and as Moses did; and as the Israelites did as they journeyed to the Promised Land.  Faithfulness and deeper faith will only come about through times of testing which allow God to prove our faith. God has certainly been my hope, encouragement, strength and help as He has proved Himself to me through his Name.  I have come to realize the trials that I am facing now are the work of God’s favor in my life. Through painful trials, blessing will come. I will be changed, and He will be glorified. The impossible must become possible. 

A few years ago my search for God, by name, began with of a book a friend had given me. One of the names that seemed to touch my heart and speak to me personally as I studied was Miqweh Yisrael.  The Hope of Israel introduced Himself to me by walking me into the most hopeless circumstances I could ever imagine. In the Hebrew scriptures, hope is often connected to the expectation that God is a deliverer who will save those who trust in Him. It urges us to wait confidently for Him to act. Biblical hope is a new kind of strength, enabling us to be patient and enduring regardless of what we face.  This is the kind of strength I would need in order to get through the next season of my life. During the times of not knowing what to hope for, God has been Miqweh Yisrael to me. For two millennia the Christian symbol for hope has been an anchor. What better way to picture the One who is utterly reliable, completely steady, invulnerable to all the forces of evil that threaten us?  If our hope is grounded in God, we will not be destroyed when gale force winds begin to blow in our direction, when fear, pain, grief, and disappointment threaten to overwhelm us. No matter how terrible the storm, we can survive because God is with us.