No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. (1 Corinthians 10:13, MSG)
While visiting Oasis Church in Los Angeles on Sunday, one of the pastors on staff shared his testimony, and it so touched my heart that I just have to share it with you.
Like all of us, he has gone through some adversity in life. Some difficulties, he admitted, were due to his own bad choices while others were simply attacks of the enemy. But no matter the reason, those adversities had driven him to a place of desperation, hopelessness, and pain.
Sitting on the edge of his friend’s futon, where he had been sleeping since his marriage had fallen apart, this broken man cried out to heaven: “God I know you said you would never leave me or forsake me, but why would you lead me here, to this place in my life that is filled with so much pain? I just don’t understand.”
In that still, small voice, God clearly answered him: “Son, I didn’t lead you here, I followed you, never leaving your side, but now that you’re ready to follow me, I will carry you out…”
I love that so much.
Too many times God gets the blame for bringing the pain, when in reality, we have caused it due to our poor choices or simply because we live in a world that is far from perfect.
God even warned us there would be times of trouble in 1 Peter 4:12, saying: “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you” (NLT).
And again in John 16:33 that says: “In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world” (MSG).
That’s the good news! God has conquered the world, and he is on our side! He is our deliverer! Just as he spoke to that broken man, “Son, I didn’t lead you to the pain but now I will carry you out,” God is saying the same thing to you today.
He is more than willing to pick you up and carry you out of your pain, and all you have to do is choose to follow him. You don’t have to get your life together first. You don’t have to pass some holiness test.
You just have to cry out to heaven:
Father, I have made mistakes, and I am sure you are well aware of those, but I am truly sorry that I’ve strayed from your plan for my life. I repent today and ask that you take complete control. I am hurting, Lord, and I don’t want to remain in this pain anymore, so I am asking you to make that way of escape for me.
Please pick me up, carry me out, and lead me into the bright future that I know that you have for me. I love you and praise you for all that you’ve done and are going to do. Your grace is amazing, Father. In the Name of your mighty Son, Jesus, Amen.
If you just prayed that prayer, be excited! No matter how impossible you think your current situation is, God is the God of the impossible, and He will make a way where there seems to be no way. He did it for that pastor on the staff of Oasis LA; He’s done it for me countless times, and He will do it for you!
