God knows how to break through...

    Last week, I shared on the song “God Only Knows” by For King and Country. The reality of the immensity and intensity of God’s love for me is truly a source of encouragement. The fact that He is not moved by who I am, what I have done or what I am going through, gives me the strength to keep going even when I may feel like giving up.
     In the song’s Outro, the lyrics are simple yet very impactful and profound.
    God only knows where to find you
    God only knows how to break through
    God only knows the real you
    There’s a kind of love that God only knows
I once again look at Jesus’ ministry in the New Testament. Jesus never waited for people to come to Him. He went to where they were because He knew what He had to offer - healing, deliverance, hope, love, eternal life. He knew what they needed and understood that need. He chose to offer His help, not because they asked, but because He had compassion on them. He knew He had the answer, and in fact, was the answer to their problems. 
    The first two lines of the Outro reminds us that God knows where we are and exactly how to get to us. We may feel lonely, isolated, even forgotten, but God sees and knows and He never forgets. Each of the people Jesus healed or delivered, were trapped in their circumstances. They needed to be set free, but no one seemed to know how to make that happen. For many, they simply resigned themselves to their life of bondage, not expecting anyone to be able to help. Then Jesus stepped on the scene and all that changed.
    I think of the story of the demon-possessed man that Jesus delivered in the region of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1-20). But I don’t necessarily want to focus on his story but on what happens before he is introduced. At the end of the preceding chapter (Mark 4:35-41), Jesus tells His disciples that they are going to the other side of the lake. While in the boat, a storm rises up and the disciples become afraid. Jesus, however is asleep in the boat. They wake Him up and He simply rebukes and calms the storm, much to their amazement. 
    What catches my attention here is that they are on their way to an assignment. The storm arises as if to stop them from carrying out this assignment. Yet, Jesus is confidently asleep in the boat. He is not worried by what is coming against them to hinder them from their assignment. Jesus is not moved by the storm. In fact, He is willing to go through this storm just to get to their destination. Someone needed Him and He was going to get to them, no matter what! 
    It’s the same with us. We may feel trapped. We may feel as if there is no hope but, there is. God is not moved by the obstacles that may be in the way of our deliverance. He knows what sometimes we forget - He can and will push His way through any storm, any obstacle, any difficulty that may try to hinder our deliverance. His goal is to reach us where we are. When we cry out to Him - and sometimes when we don’t - He is focused on reaching out to help us. It may seem as if nothing is happening. It may seem as if He is silent, as if He is doing absolutely nothing. But that’s not true. With God, things are not always what they seem. 
    The demon-possessed man never knew that Help was on the way. He never knew what Jesus had to go through to get to Him. He didn’t know that Jesus had to go through a storm to get to him. He didn’t know that Jesus was not turned off by the storm but still chose to push His way to him. Similarly, we don’t know what God is doing, what He is shifting, moving around or out of the way, even rebuking or calming, just to get to us. God knows how to break through the difficult places to get to where we are, where we may feel trapped. And He knows how to break us out.
     God can and will deliver you from any prison!
   If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is nothing that can keep God from getting to you to help you. He will push through, He will get to you to deliver you. So, be encouraged! God will find His way to you, just to help you!

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