Have you ever felt utterly and completely helpless about a situation that troubled you? Despite your best efforts, things are just not turning out the way you had hoped? I can relate. My family is in the middle of one of those trials right now.

I have always heard that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so surely eventually I will become the bionic woman, right?!

I can imagine just how the children of Israel must have felt as they fled from Pharaoh’s Army only to be cornered, standing room only, by the edge of the Red Sea.  They panicked, yet all they could do was stand. What a lesson they learned that day!  In Exodus 14:13, Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Verse 21 says, Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.  Not only did God hold back the sea but He did it ‘all that night.’  Whatever we need, He’s there for us as much and as long as we need Him. “All that night,” I love that! There was no escape, but He made something out of nothing for the children of Israel.

Then there was the time when a great crowd that had followed Jesus needed to eat. He had compassion on them and healed all those who were sick. Looking at the crowd, which numbered about 5,000 men, not counting women and children, Jesus asked his disciple Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5)

Jesus knew what he was going to do, but he asked Philip to test him. Philip replied that even eight months’ wages would not be enough to give each person even one bite of bread. Andrew, Simon Peter‘s brother, had more faith in Jesus. He brought forward a young boy who had five small loaves of barley bread and two small fish. Even so, Andrew wondered how that could help.

Jesus soon showed His power by taking the boy’s small lunch and feeding more than 5,000 people with it. Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down in groups of fifty. I love this part, He wanted them to receive His gift in a state of rest. “You need only to be still.” He took the five loaves, looked up to heaven, gave thanks to God his Father, and passed them to his disciples to be distributed. He did the same with the two fish. He made something out of nothing for His followers that day.

The Bible is filled with stories where the Lord came through for His children, and made something out of nothing for them. I take great comfort in that. Mark 9:23 says, “Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’” In our time of trouble, we can gain strength by standing on the promises in His Word because He is always faithful.  Promises like…He will never leave us or forsake us.  Promises like…He’s working all things together for our good.  Promises like…He who started a great work in us will complete it.  We just have to trust Him.  Promises like…He has plans to prosper us and give us a hope and a future.

When we are stuck and waiting for deliverance, we have to remember what God can do, what He has done for us before. It may seem that our situation is out of control, but it is never out of God’s control. We should not focus on what we cannot do, but on what God can do. If we could just be like Abraham. Romans 4:17 says, “Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.” When our trial becomes too heavy, as His children, we can call on the One who is strong enough to carry it, the One who held the Red Sea back all that night, the One who fed over 5000 from one small boy’s lunch.

He is the Master at making something out of nothing. He will do it again.

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 Dear Lord: Thank You that Your Word is true, and that we can stand on Your promises. You are the Creator who made the universe from nothing. You made us from dust. You are our deliverer. When there was no way, You made a way for us through Your Son Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. Daily You still deliver us. Your Word says that the righteous cry out, and You hear them; You deliver them from all their troubles. We thank You and praise You for Your great love, Your faithfulness and Your grace! We do not deserve it, but we are so grateful for it. Amen

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Luke 18:27

Are you needing God to make something out of nothing for you right now? Or do you have stories of how He already did that for you? Please share your experiences, thoughts and comments.

Thank you for reading and sharing my blogpost today. May our Creator who masterfully makes something out of nothing, continue to make a way for you daily as you travel through this life.