What impossible situations do people face today? What sorts of circumstances do people find themselves in where there does not seem to be any way out?
Sunday I am preaching from Isaiah 7 – –
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.(Is 7:14).”
In the original setting, this was about an impossible situation. Assyria was on the rise in the north. And, the Northern Kingdom and Aram/Syria wanted to form an alliance. When Judah refused, the Northern Kingdom (also called Ephraim in the passage) and Syria threatened to lay siege to Jerusalem. Humanly speaking, there seemed to be no way out.
Ahaz panicked. Among other things, he was ostensibly terrified that they would not have enough water.
Chances are, the Assyrians are not threatening you today. You probably have water on tap. Most of the people in my congregation aren’t seriously concerned about a siege – – unless they have a strained relationship with extended family who will stay with them over Christmas. Never the less, many face situations where there does not seem to be any way out. Would you share a short overview of an impossible situation? It can be personal or what someone else you know faces. It will help my preparation for Sunday.
If you faced an “impossible” situation that God solved – – I would love to hear about that, too.
I was having a terrible time, every day with trust. I thought it was “impossible” to get past being afraid and insecure. I prayed that this be taken from me, and God answered, and continues give me signs everyday why I can trust, not only in my personal life, but in him also.
About 5 years ago we lived in the suburbs. I was working full-time with my own daycare business. My husband was working full-time. We had 2 kids. A mortgage bigger than we should have, a large car payment and credit card debit over our ears. We felt that we were supposed to homeschool our kids but we were not making ends meet as it was (plus I was soo tired from working from 7am-6pm M-F). To lose my income would have been catastrophic. We started praying about it. I know I heard from God- concerning both areas. I was reading Isaiah chapter 1, how the country was desolate and the fields were being stripped from the foreigners. I felt in my heart and soul that was God telling me the kids I was taking care of that were not my own, were stripping away the wonderful things I could be sharing with my kids alone. When I finally had my own to myself, I was so tired that I didnt do anything meaningful with them.
Okay God, if you want me to quit how is that going to be possible. Long story short – it came to our attention that we were not bringing God’s share into his store house appropritately. We started tithing the way He asked us to and within a month we sold our house and moved to Rockford. Alot of debt was paid off. We sold our car with the payments and bought one out right that was older with no payments. Currently we have no outstanding debt except our house. If you had asked me if that were possible 5 years ago. I would have said no way. I also have the extra benefit of homeschooling my beautiful, fun-loving kids. God is sooo GOOD!
I have had several “impossible” times starting back to my childhood. I feel that I have learned the less I worry and attempt to rescue myself, I can feel Jesus guiding my steps. I praise HIM for placing me where I am right now and looking back how far he truly has brought me. It’s a wonderful thing to realize my heavenly Father is always there to hold my hand.
Chris,
You are familiar with alot of my past. You also are in the loop for the most part on the “storm” in my life right now. I have tried everything in my arsenal to fix this. It is true what some wise old red neck said some time ago “The harder I try the behinder I get”.
The amopunt of success achieved in this and all other sticky situations I get myself into is directly proportional to the amount of faith I have in God at the time.
Flip the coin over and we could say that the amount of success is inversely proportional to the amount of self reliance I have at the time. The more faith I put in myself the deeper the rut gets. (“They” say that the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of the hole)
The storm I am in now gets better faster when I get out of the way and rely upon Jesus. My part is to continue to lean upon Him and seek healthy Christian mentoring and guidance from the wonderful, Godly men that God put in my life in answer to a prayer.
I pray for you regularly and am thankful to God for bringing you to the Valley. I pray that this sermon series will not only touch but transform hearts in our church and our little community would see this transformation as something they would want to be a part of.
I think many parents feel dispair with parenting. It may be specific situations or just in general. I think many people see the importance of doing the right thing but just don’t know how to go about it.
Thanks everyone for your comments. This will be a great help with my sermon prep.
Do pray. Pray that I would preach with the anointing of the Spirit.
Chris.