We must never give up on hope during adversity; rather, we are to remember that God’s glory manifests during adversity. God wants to step into our busy schedules to manifest His power. He will not force Himself upon us, but will patiently wait for us to falter and reach our wits’ end.
From a human perspective, man’s extremity is a lost opportunity and deems the hope of future survival; but from God’s perspective, it is an opportune time to act and display His glory. Who would ever have thought that Job’s situation would change for the better? But Job, himself, said:
“For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though, its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant,” (Job 14:7-9 NKJV). Though Job lost all he had at the beginning, yet his end was more glorious than his beginning.
Jairus’ daughter had died before Jesus arrived at the scene, but the clutches of death could not prevent Jesus from raising her up. Her extremity was an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate his power by raising her from the dead.
The woman with the issue of blood had exhausted her means trying to find a solution to her ailment. But when she reached her wits’ end, her faith surged to touch the hem of Jesus’s garment. She instantly received her healing. “Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped,” (Luke 8:43-44 NKJV).
The man by the pool of Bethsaida lay there for thirty-eight excruciating years without any help. When Jesus asked him: “Do you want to be made well?” Rather than give a precise “yes or no” answer, his response was long and tortuous. “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me,” (John 5:7 NKJV). Jesus solved his problem by a simple command: “Rise, take up your bed and walk!” (John 5:8 NKJV). His extremity was Jesus’s opportunity to act!
In 2 Kings 6:24 -7:1-2, we see another situation of extremity that gave rise to God’s intervention. When Syria besieged Samaria, there arose a severe famine in the land. So severe was the famine that people resorted to cannibalism. Under the tense situation, a lady cried out to the King for help. The King responded that he could not help the lady. The King blamed Elisha for the calamity in the land. Under the tense situation, Elisha brought a prophecy saying: “Tomorrow about this time,” there was going to be an abundance of food. Many did not believe it, but by the following day, by a twist of supernatural interventions, food became abundant in Samaria.
King Jehoshaphat’s outcry to God when he was invaded by three nations showed his helplessness and God’s readiness to save the traumatized king. “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” Be assured that your extremity will always invite God’s intervention in your situation.
• Contact: [email protected]
