365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 149: God of Hard Places

God of Hard Places

“I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27 NLT)

This is too hard, God.

I have friends who are in such hard places right now. Hard places like cancer and grief and loss and depression. You probably have friends in these places, too. You probably are in some of these places, too.

These hard places are part of a world that is not as God wants it to be, but that doesn't mean He has checked out of them.

If God is not God of these hard places, then He is not Lord of all. But He is, and He is.

In the hard place of trials, God is a way through: "When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isaiah 43:2).

In the hard place of opposition, God is a way around: "On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, 'Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!'" (Joshua 6:15,16).

In the hard place of destruction, God is a way over: "When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down" (Exodus 12:23).

In the hard place of temptation, God is a way out: "When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

A few years ago, well into my 40s, I listened to a recording my mom had made of a mini concert I did at my church when I was just barely a twenty-something. I sang while my dear friend and brilliant pianist played, to raise money for the church's beautiful new grand piano. I listened to myself introduce those songs and share what they told me about God and, true though the words I spoke were, I thought, "You didn't even know Him then! You didn't even know Him." Thanks be to God, I did know Him then, but looking back, I could see how the hard places He'd taken me through in the intervening years had brought me closer to Himself...and, oh the joy of it, I wouldn't have traded those hard lessons in hard places for anything.

"This is too hard, God," we tell Him. But then He helps us in the hard and helps us through the hard, and the next time He asks, "Is anything too hard for me?" our voice is a little bit stronger when we answer, "No, God...nothing."