Overcoming Faith
by Ann Robinson-Worley
Subtext: { Quoting from 1599 Genevia Bible} Matthew 28:9
" And as they went to tell his disciples, Behold Jesus also met them, saying, God save you.."
You may be facing some obstacles today which you think you will never be able to overcome. So did Moses and the people of Israel. At the end of the forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
Overcoming Obstacles
And they told him, "We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekits dwell in the land of Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan."
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it."
When we focus on the obstacles that we see we remove our focus on the God who can remove those obstacles. When David was in distress and facing his obstacles he said ,
" The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. " Psalm 18:2
"As for me, I am poor and needy; but the Lord takes thought for me. Thou art my help and my deliverer! " Psalm 40:17
Peter had some obstacles of his own to face when he was walking on the water. And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying unto him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:28-31
Peter saw what the wind was creating making the waves rush upon his feet and swell up high. He took his eyes off Jesus and places them on the circumstances that were going on around him and he began to sink. How many times have we done this in our own lives? We begin to fear when we see the circumstances going on all around us and images and failure and destruction bombard our minds but we must remember that as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus and call upon HIM we shall be saved! He will not fail us and He will not forsake us! If the wind and waves are crashing in on you right now I just want to encourage you to do as Peter did. Cry out to HIM today and watch and see if Jesus will not reach out his hand to you and catch you!
" For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? "
Deut 4:7
" In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. " Psalm 18:6
In John 11:32-44 we see a woman who was facing an obstacle of death but she placed her faith in Jesus and she obtained her miracle. Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; and he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, " See how he loved him!"
Jesus wept because "We have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15
But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."
Jesus said to her, " Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank thee that thou has heard me. I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice," Lazarus come out."
No matter what obstacle you are facing today if you call up on Jesus he will come and answer you and be your savior and deliverer that you need no matter what your situation looks like.
