Almighty God Has The Power To Save Us
Just before my dad passed, he gave to me an extra copy of Charles Spurgeon’s “Morning by Morning” devotional. So as I’m working through that this year, if you come along with me, you might hear a few Spurgeon quotes from time to time. But going through the books my dad has read and seeing the passages he has highlighted has been a comforting exercise to me and helped me to realize that even though he has gone on to be with our Lord, part of him remains here with us. That is his legacy, guiding me still with his words and advice. And that’s really special.
Back to Spurgeon—One of the topics that Spurgeon wrote on was how God is mighty to save. We find a scripture verse in Isaiah 63:1 that reads (in the New Living Testament version): “It is I, the LORD, who has the power to save.” Oh, what an awesome promise that is.
Spurgeon writes: “Christ is not only ‘mighty to save’ those who repent, but he is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but he is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them.”
That is not a popular thing to say in our current culture. We don’t like it when people “make us do stuff,” do we? But that is exactly how life is. We just don’t like to talk about it.
Brendon Burchard said recently, “If you don’t have clarity, you become an automaton in someone else’s plan.” In other words, if we don’t keep our wits about us, if we don’t pay attention to where we are going and plan our own steps forward, we become a pawn in someone else’s game. That is so true.
Today we are facing a battleground of the mind. If we don’t guard our thoughts, there are those who would keep us constantly distracted from walking our own path. And when we do that, we march to the beat of their drum, not ours.
God has been impressing on me lately the need to watch what I say and watch what I think. He is indeed mighty to save. God is all-powerful. He is the one who bends the hearts of men—both rulers and the poor. And make no mistake—prayer does change things. That’s not just a cute saying. I’ve seen it play out too many times in my own life to deny the truth.
That’s why it’s so important to pray for those in our lives who we know need the touch of God—those who need to have their hearts turned back to God. We need to pray for our enemies, no matter their political party or what they’ve done to us or our loved ones. And, believe, me, I know that’s not easy to do.
But my Bible says that God will hear our prayers. He will answer. He will turn the hearts of men to Him. But we need to realize that we are called to Do Something.
I was reading in Exodus where the Israelites were fleeing Egypt and Pharaoh’s army was pursuing them until they were backed up against the Red Sea. The people were afraid and began to mutter that maybe they should go back to Egypt because it “would be better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness.”
I love Moses’ reply. He told the people “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
But I love the next verse even more. Exodus 14:15 reads: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!’” He then instructed Moses to pick up his staff and raise his hand over the Red Sea so the water would be divided and the Israelites could walk through to safety.
There is something really key here that I want us to get today. When we cry out to God, yes, He hears us and answers. But we need to be ready to hear what He has to say when He answers and to obey. Often that means we are given marching orders and we need to follow through.
For the Israelites that day, the message was, “Watch this! God’s mighty arm will save us.” God did His part and opened up the Red Sea. Then the Israelites did their part and marched through.
After their great victory that day in the desert, Moses and the people sang a song to the Lord. One verse in that song (found in Exodus 15) jumped out at me in the context of today’s thought. Verse 13 reads: “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.”
Spurgeon says: “Christ is ‘mighty to save.’ You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength.”
Just remember, my friends, man doesn’t get the last say in this life. God does.
What are your marching orders today? Do you need a miracle? Is there someone in your life whose heart needs to be turned back to God? Let’s pray together for our friends, our loved ones, and our enemies—and then let’s see what marching orders we get when God answers.
