The Radiant Glory of God: [Part 1 of 2] The Prelude of Impossible Reality

The boldness in the Lord [Exodus 14:8] of the Israelites was quickly depleted, when they faced the impossible reality of being pursued and overtaken by six hundred best Egyptian chariots and officers [Exodus 14:6,7]. The reality of threats was in their face, overpowering. The circumstance was terrifying with no possibility of deliverance avail.

Our response when faced with impossible reality reflects the spiritual reality in our heart of who God truly is to us.

Israelites’ response is classic:

They complained, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us  to the desert to die?” [Exodus 14:11].

They blamed God by cursing God’s blessing, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” [Exodus 14:12]

They completely forgot God’s previous promise, God had told them ahead of time that “I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” [Exodus 14:4]

But how could we judge the Israelites? The reality was truly impossible. We can feel their hearts pounding as the threats came closer and closer while at the same time, it became clearer and clearer that there was absolutely no way out. No one told them ahead of time how God would have delivered them. God’s method of deliverance (of parting the Red Sea) was inconceivable and completely beyond their comprehension and thinking.

Our lives have no shortage of impossible reality: (i) Facing the threat of laid off, or in the situation of unemployment, with no alternative avail; (ii) Being barren for a long time with the biological clock ticking; (iii) Desiring and praying for someone to turn their lives to God while grieving for their bondage in sins in the mean time; (iv) Being victimized in situation of injustice with no one able to understand or help; (v) Be in financial difficulty and see no possible source of income in sight. This list goes on and on.

Impossible realities of our lives are no different from the threat the Israelites faced as they encountered the overpowering Egyptian army during the process of deliverance from their slavery in Egypt.

The Impossible Realities we face in life is the Prelude of God’s Radiant Glory!

As we are going through them, there is no way we would have known ahead of time how God would deliver us. His method of deliverance is usually inconceivable and beyond our comprehension.

So instead of complaining and  blaming God:

Let’s retrace and reclaim His big picture and Kingdom purpose for our situations: The Israelites could have remembered God’s bigger picture of deliverance: He sent Moses for their deliverance; He supernaturally administered the ten plagues for Pharaoh. Why would God do all that to lead them to death? They should have known that it was not His character. So when facing impossible realities, I like to read over the last couple months of my spiritual journals to discern the movements of His hands and regain a sense of His big picture and Kingdom purpose He had previously revealed. For example, recently I was facing some threats in an unpleasant situation at my workplace. I found an entry in my spiritual journal several months prior that captured the words of wisdom that said, “The threats are immaterial. Focus on living out God’s calling and these threats will take care of themselves.” That was truly the case as things unfolded.

Let’s be expectant that God will do the impossible in our impossible reality for His glory: as we are so preoccupied with ourselves and our circumstances, we lose sight of the big picture. Our earthly situations are never about us but about God and His radiant glory. God will do the impossible so our testimonies will display the glory of His name. He is faithful and His help is always timely but beyond our understanding. Be still. Keep trusting. Be expectant that He will do the great and impossible things.

Let worship and thanksgiving displace complains and blames: Worship and thanksgiving is the weapon of mass destruction against the lies of the Evil one. Instead of saying “were there no grave in Egypt” or “it would have been better for us to..”, we thank God for delivering us from slavery and bondage of sins. We worship Him as He is a God of love who saw our cry and out of His mercy, He has a plan of salvation. We trust that we are in the situation as a prelude for His radiant glory.

Father, I thank you for the impossible reality that you allow in my life, as it is a prelude for Your presence and manifestation of Your radiant glory! I can’t wait to see Your mighty hand of deliverance, so that my joy may overflow!

What is your list of impossible reality? How do you see God in your situation? Please leave a comment!

The Radiant Glory of God: Part 1: The Prelude, Part 2: The Release: The Radiant Glory of God Part 2: The Release through Faith Action