God Is in Your Situation, and Even the Enemy Knows It
We often wonder more about what we don’t have than what we do have because what we do have seems so insignificant in our eyes that we are reluctant to look at it closely. But I believe the very thing that seems insignificant is the same thing God wants to use to bring you through.
When we get stuck between a rock and a hard place, it is as though we are crying out, “God, help us!” Yet He has already given us the answer. What is in our hands? What is in our hearts? What do we have to stand on? It may be something physical, like David’s stone and sling. Or maybe it is prayer and faith, or the willingness to fast and seek God for a miracle.
Praying with fasting is powerful. In Matthew 17:20–21, Jesus even said:
“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
You may be going through something similar to what the Israelites experienced in Exodus 14. God led them out of Egypt by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Meanwhile, it says in verse 4 that while God was leading them, He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, saying:
“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.”
Now my question is, why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart?
But the Bible shows us that Pharaoh’s heart was already hardened toward the Israelites.
In other words, God wanted the Egyptians to see and know His power.
God used Pharaoh as an instrument only because Pharaoh himself had already shown a hardened heart against the children of Israel. Pharaoh showed his stubbornness even when God sent Moses and Aaron, His prophet, to him.
In Exodus 7:14, it continues:
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.”
The story shows Pharaoh’s obstinacy—his firm resistance to change and his repeated refusal despite the plagues. Through all of this, God displayed His power. Pharaoh was so defiant and so resistant against God’s people that he refused to back down. But God showed His sovereignty and power to prove that He alone is the true and living God through the miracles performed before Pharaoh’s eyes—not only for the Egyptians, but also for the Israelites to see.
God used Moses’ rod in Exodus 7:9 to perform signs that revealed His identity.
Sometimes we may ask, “God, what do I have that You can use?” It could be something found in our struggles or during a disappointing season. That is often when He uses it. It may become a word of encouragement that helps deliver someone else through their own struggles.
Think about that for a moment.
Moses saw a shepherd’s rod.
God saw an instrument He could use.
That made me stop and ask myself:
What is in my hands?
What has God already given me that I have overlooked?
Those questions reminded me of my own life, my struggles, and how God brought me through them.
One of my biggest struggles was failing my English test. I could not pass it, but I did not let it discourage me because I was determined to overcome it. As a teenager, I failed most of my subjects. The only two I passed were Accounting and Math.
I took six subjects in school because I had to pass my CXC examinations, which are equivalent to a high school diploma. My biggest challenge was English. I repeated all of my other subjects, but English seemed to be the one subject I could not pass. Yet, I refused to give up.
There is a saying that has always stayed with me:
“If you fail to try, then consider yourself a failure. But if you keep trying, even though you may fail several times, and you refuse to give up, then you are not a failure.”
It is like the saying:
“Winners never quit, and quitters never win.”
I took the English exam, especially the writing portion, for the first time and failed. It did not deter me. The second time, I failed again, but I remained determined because I believed I would eventually pass. The third time, I failed once more, but instead of quitting, I looked at what I was doing wrong and what I needed to study before trying again.
I took it a fourth time, then a fifth time, and still failed. I began to feel discouraged, but my faith grew stronger. I took it a sixth time and still did not pass. Then I took it a seventh time and failed again.
Throughout it all, I kept praying. I did not understand what I was doing wrong, but in the back of my mind, I believed God was teaching me something.
Then, on my eighth attempt, I finally passed.
I know God was teaching me something through that experience, and it was this:
Never give up.
I believe God gave me the courage and determination to keep going, and maybe one day it will make even more sense.
When God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, all Moses had was a rod, and God used it to perform signs of His power over Pharaoh, as we see in Exodus 4:2.
Even after Pharaoh let the Israelites go, the Bible says that Pharaoh still pursued them. But in Exodus 14:13–16 (KJV), God told them to “stand still” and see the salvation of the Lord.
Is God telling you to stand still while the enemy is coming against you again?
Even after you have surrendered your struggle to God or offered Him the talent He has placed in your hands, you still need to stand still and watch how He brings you through.
God stepped in again and used the very same rod, just as He can use your struggle, your talent, or the thing that seems insignificant to bring you out.
He used Moses’ rod and worked another miracle.
In Exodus 14:16, (KJV) God said:
“But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”
The rod was what the Lord used to bring them through.
So, no matter what you are facing, know that you have something God can use to part the sea for you and bring you through your difficult season.
Stay tuned for Part 2: When God Uses What Looks Small.
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