Way maker is one who makes a road specifically. 

Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and because of that God delivered Israel to the Philistines where they were in bondage for forty years.  There was a man by the name of Manoah; his wife was barren and couldn’t conceive children.  An angel of the Lord came to her and told her should would conceive and bear a son.  Their son’s name was Samson.  Samson would begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.

Later in life Samson is enticed by Delilah.  Delilah was given order to entice him and find out where his strength came from so that the Philistines could overpower him and afflict harm.  The told her they would give her eleven pieces of silver.  Three times Delilah tried to get Samson to tell her the source of his strength and each time Samson lied to her.  Frustrated Delilah used the “you don’t love me” tactic to get Samson to converse.

Using this tactic several times, Samson gave in.  He told her that “no razor has ever come upon his head” (i.e. Judges 16:17) and if he is shaven his strength will leave him.  Delilah provided this information to the Philistines, but this time the Lord departed from Samson and he was captured by the Philistines.  They gouged his eyes, bound him with bronze fetter, and he became a grinder in prison.

After his hair was shaven his hair began to grow again.  The Philistine gathered to celebrate their god and rejoice in the fact that their god had delivered their enemy Samson.  The Philistines called for Samson from the prison as they wanted him to perform for them.  Samson was stationed between two pillars where he ask someone to let him feel the pillars which supported the temple.  He wanted to lean on them. 

In that moment Samson called upon the Lord to remember him and strength him to take vengeance on the Philistines with one blow for gouging his eyes.  The bible says there was about three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson perform (i.e. Judges 16: 27).  With all his might, the temple fell on all the people who were in it.  The dead that Samson killed at his death was more than he killed in his life.

Reading the story of Samson you will find that he made a lot of mistakes in his life.  The beautiful thing about Samson story, is even through his mistakes that didn’t stop God from using him to fulfill his purpose.  He made a way despite Samson’s mistake and he will do the same for us despite our mistakes.

Miracle Worker is one who have achieved or able to achieve success in something that other people have found very difficult. 

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These godly character traits are not something we can generate on our own, but are divinely produced in us as we yield to the Spirit and walk obediently with him. 

Never underestimate the spiritual impact we have on unbelievers who observe how we respond to our environments.  When we are staring anxiety in the face and choose to have peace, or when we want to give someone a piece of our mind and choose self-control, when we don’t understand the season God has us in but choose to remain faithful; we my friends are bearing witness to the splendor of the gospel.  We are living the openness to the message of salvation.

This kind of witnessing is only delivered for the world to see because of the miracle worker who lives within each of us.

Promise keeper is one who keeps his promises.

I’m sure you all have heard this, but the promises of God is yes and amen.  Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”  After receiving my master degree my student loan bill was astronomically high.  I had no idea how we were going to repay this debt.

I remember crying my eyeballs out to God.  Later that night I went to sleep and in my dream God reminded me of Matthew 6:26.  From that night on, I have not had one worry about my student loan bill.  I comfortably pay that bill every month.  I say that to say, God is with us always.  Hold this fact close to your heart and take courage in this.  The bible is full of God’s promises and reminders that he is faithful.

Light in the Darkness is to find a way out of a dark hole or despair caused by life.

We all have been there.  We have experience moments in our life where everything seems to go dark.  The darkness can represent health crisis, workplace issues, emptiness, friendship issues, failure, unfair treatment, financial crisis, and etc.  Every now and then, people will face these problems and reason how to deal with these issues and how to resolve them.

In dark times it’s easy to activate the “I” factor.  What I mean is everything we do or don’t do to deal with this dark period is centered around what I can do to shed light on this situation.  Matthew 11 says, “Come to me, all you who a weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

God can and will use you when you are feeling weak to fulfill his sovereign purpose.  I know that are darkest hour can feel like it has a hold on us that won’t let go.  I want to encourage you on today, that when we lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus he is there to help you through.  No matter how dark the times and even when you can’t see how the Lord is working, be confident and know he is to accomplish the purpose he has for you and for his Glory.  God uses us all in those weak moments for us to lean on him.  He is the light in the darkness working spiritually in dark times.

My God that is who you are…

Ease & Stillness,