Glimpse at Victory
I will never forget my first glimpse at victory through the eyes of defeat. I had been waiting for God to answer a prayer for a very long time. Throughout this duration, God would reconfirm His promise to me. Believing I only needed to wait for Him—I did just that. Everything was going smooth, until that faithful day. Recalling that day—I woke up to what seemed to be a nightmare! How I wished it had been only a nightmare, only it was not—it was actually happening. All that God had promised seemed to be fading away right before my eyes and there was nothing I could do. What was supposed to be VICTORY seemed like DEFEAT.
FINDING THE SOLUTION
I was despairing when I finally looked to God for the solution. As God began to work, it became clear to me, He wanted obedience from me and wanted me to walk by faith. My mind was made up. I was not going to do what He wanted. It was just too difficult. God certainly has a way of getting you to see His point of view and so He did with me.
Finally, God graciously allowed me to realize He was not going to change His mind on this and if anyone was going to change, it was going to be me. I will never forget my first seps into obedience. Just picture a toddler taking their first steps. It was really shaky there for a while. Unsure, yet moving out on what I knew God desired of me. Of course, I failed a few times, but I never quit.
Wouldn’t you know it, when it seemed as if I was getting the hang of this obedience thing, everything seemed to fall apart! I began to believe I had misunderstood God. Then I thought God had led me down a path and turned His back and left me. I actually felt abandoned. Even though I have always known that God would not forsake me—I just could not hold on to that at that time. You might have a different situation but yet it calls for some type of obedience on your part. We seem to have myriads of questions for God when we are in a situation that calls for trust in God. We want to know from God, WHY? Why do you want me to do this? Why are you doing it this way God? Then it’s WHAT? What if you do not come through on your part? What if I misunderstood you. Then it’s HOW? How are you going to fix this? How am I going to be able to do this? How long will I have to wait? To find the solution, you must be willing to trust God with your situation.
GOD’S SOLUTION
When we are going through, our problems seem magnified. They seem larger than life and unsolvable. When we see obstacles and problems, God sees the SAME obstacles and problems as opportunities. We demonstrated through His Word that obedience was what He required from me despite what I saw. We are told in 2 Corinthians 5:7, that we must walk by faith and not by sight.
A good example of someone walking by faith is told through the circumstances of a prophet named Elijah. Elijah was told by the Lord to inform the people that it was not to rain for a long time. After Elijah told the people, he was instructed to leave. Without a second thought, Elijah obeyed God. No questions were asked of God by Elijah. He simply obeyed. He did not make any excuses of delays, he just obeyed.
God told Elijah He would make provisions for him and Elijah trusted Him. He told him a raven would feed him meat both day and night. If this had been me, my first thoughts would be: “what a raven—bringing me food. For one thing, how is this bird going to find me? God, I just cannot see this one!”
God wants us to know He can use anyone or anything to bring about His purpose. He is not limited by anything! I probably would have wanted to stop right then and there. What if Elijah had stopped. What a blessing he would have missed! Then God told Elijah there would be a little brook that would provide him with water. Would we have believed this? By faith, Elijah complied and found God to be true to His word. He will be faithful to you too. God is not slack concerning His promises. He cannot, nor will He ever lie to us. We can trust Him.
Can you see Elijah enjoying God’s blessings? All that God said would happen, did. There Elijah was without a care in the world. He did not need to look for food. The bird was like clockwork. He brought his food just like God said, both day and night. The only thing though, Elijah’s little brook was drying up. Then it happened—the brook was dry and there was no more water! VICTORY looked like DEFEAT! Do you think Elijah wondered why God led him out there and then allowed the brook to become dry and for him to possibly die?
Sometimes we believe that God has forsaken us. We began to believe God has failed us or allowed our brook to become dry. We fail to realize that even this seemingly disaster was a part of God’s overall plan. In this instance, God had to answer another prayer through this dried brook. When we are in similar circumstances, of VICTORY looking like DEFEAT, we need to apply 2 Corinthians 5:7 I know it is impossible to comprehend the ways of God. He usually takes what looks like defeat or failure to demonstrate His power. If your situation does not look good, won’t you trust God with it?
As I mentioned earlier that God used Elijah’s situation to work a blessing for someone else too. When it seemed as if all was lost, God had it under control. He has your situation under control too. Like Elijah, maybe your brook is drying up and you are wondering when will God intervene. You should follow Elijah’s example. He trusted God and was obedient to God. Let God fix it however He wants to and when He wants to. We must trust and obey God even when we cannot see His plan of deliverance. Let’s see how God worked it out. God spoke to Elijah and told him that He had commanded a widow woman to look out for him and feed him. When he got to his next destination, he found God to be true to His Word again! He saw the woman and asked for water and bread. The woman told him she only had a few morsels of meal (flour) and just a little oil. In addition, she had just a child. The woman told Elijah that she had so little food until she planned to get some sticks (firewood) to cook it so she and her son could just die. VICTORY was looking like DEFEAT.
Can you see how this woman needed God’s help in a pressing way? She was desperate and was ready to give up when God stepped in right on time. God so orchestrated the moments of Elijah so that both of them would have their needs met. Can you see how God might be using your situation to help someone else? Look at Elijah’s trust and faith in God. He heard the woman, but he had also heard God. Not knowing how God would use the woman’s small amount of food, Elijah only knew that God would provide enough for all three. It was almost as if Elijah became hard of hearing. He said again, “Go and fix it and bring it to me FIRST and then you and your son eat what’s left.” Now, she had to have thought, “What’s left, he did not hear a word I said, I only have a morsel!”
I can imagine her mumbling to herself, “I only have a few morsels, and it’s not even enough for one, let alone three. Plus, just who do you think you are. I don’t even know you and you want me to feed you before my child!” Elijah must have known she was struggling with his request or somewhat demand, because he said to her, “God is going to replenish your barrel of meal and oil until the day it rains.” What a promise! This lady did not even have a full cup of oil or meal and God tells her to give up all that she had and he would replenish her barrel! Would you have been able to take God at His word, or would you have missed out on your blessing?
Look at what the Bible says happened next. The woman went and did according to all Elijah had said. VICTORY for both the woman and Elijah did not come until after they went and did what God said for them to do, despite what they saw, believed, or thought. God was true to His word. God wants us to surrender all and depend only on Him.
