You are probably familiar with the song Way Maker that has grown in popularity over the last few months. There are a number of versions that have been recorded; our family's favorite is the one by Leeland. We have sung it a handful of times at Berean.
Lyrically it is a very simple, repetitive song. The lyrics, though there aren't many, are incredibly truthful and necessary for my heart.
These words are what my soul regularly needs to be reminded of. God is always at work, no matter what I am seeing or not seeing, and no matter what I am feeling. God doesn't change with the circumstances. Just because things around me are changing or seem uncertain, I need to remember that God is faithful and true to his promises. He is always working.
God at Work: Old Testament Stories
As I have been reading and studying about different Old Testament characters of late, I continue to be reminded of this exact truth. God made a covenant with Abraham saying that he would be the father of a great nation. God promised he would return these people to this great land and give it to them. Yet, Abraham and his wife were old and had no children. But God was working and provided a son.
There were numerous times that it looked like the fulfillment of this covenant was in jeopardy. Jacob, whom the covenant was to be fulfilled through, had to face his brother Esau, from whom he stole his father's birthright and blessing. Instead of getting his revenge and inflicting harm, Esau received his brother with grace, love, and forgiveness.
Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and then sold as a slave to a group of travelers. He landed in Egypt, rose in the ranks as a prominent figure, but was falsely accused of sexual conduct and thrown in prison. God delivered him from prison, and he was appointed as second in command over all of Egypt and the distributor of food during an extreme famine. God used all of this to bring the Israelite people to Egypt where they could prosper and grow into a great nation.
Eventually, the Israelite people grew to a size that caused the Egyptians to fear them. The Egyptians placed them in slavery to try to control them and the Pharoah came up with a plan to subdue them. He went to the Hebrew midwives and instructed them to kill all of the newborn baby boys, but to let the newborn baby girls live. The two midwives in charge were Shiphrah and Puah. These two women disobeyed the Pharoah's orders and stood up against him. They allowed the newborn boys to live, which allowed the Israelite people to continue to prosper and grow in number. Two women, whom most people don't know much about, were used in a huge way to continue the covenant that God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This all took place when things were looking bleak for the Israelites. But God was still working.
- Even when Abraham and Sarah couldn't get pregnant, God was still working.
- Even when Jacob feared the reunion with his brother Esau, God was still working.
- Even when Joseph was sold by his brothers and then was falsely accused, God was still working.
- Even when Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites and tried to weaken them through killing all newborn baby boys, God was still working.
See God's Faithfulness Throughout History
This shows me who God is. He is the same God of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, and the Israelites as he is today. He is faithful and keeps his promises. Even when I can't see it, he is working. Even when I don't feel it, he is working.
I look at these accounts in the Bible and put myself in the shoes of each of these characters. They went through great uncertainty and tribulation. I have the benefit of being able to read further and see how God was working the whole time. I can see how God was working in incredible ways! In the midst of this, they didn't understand what was happening or what God was doing, but he was working.
My heart needs to be consistently reminded that God is working. No matter what I face, no matter what I am going through, and no matter what I am feeling, none of these things change the truth that God is still working. In fact, what I might see as incomprehensible in my life may just be God working in an incredible way for my good, his purpose, and his glory.
God Is Working in My Life
As parents, we will face a lot of difficult situations. We will have hard days. We will have dry seasons where we feel distant from God or from understanding what he is doing. It is easy to read the Bible and see the end of the story in these characters' lives and acknowledge God's hand and presence. It is a lot more difficult in our own lives when we don't know the ending. But we must continue to remind ourselves that God is still working.
This is God's story,
and I get to see how I fit into it.
The truth is that I want to see and understand everything that God is doing in every moment, but that isn't how God works. The reason I want this is that I see myself at the center of my own story. I'm looking for how God is going to intervene and enter my story. The problem is that I have it backward. I am not in the midst of my own story but in the midst of God's story. He is at the center. This is his story, and I get to see how I fit into it. And I do fit into it. Just like the people in the Bible, I am someone who is blessed to be created and known by God for the purpose of accomplishing his will.
Our circumstances don't determine if God is working, nor do our feelings. God is always working because it is his story. So, no matter what we face, we can always remember that we are a part of his incredible story where he is always working.
Keep speaking, preaching, and singing this to your heart. You need it. It is an important reminder. You are a part of his story, and even if you can't see it or feel it, he is still working.