With God There Is Always a Solution

Let us turn to the book of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 43. We have taken a break from the subject that occupied us for a good number of weeks concerning the Holy Spirit and the Spirit-filled life, but we are going to return to it now when the new year begins. We have not forgotten about it, nor have we simply left it hanging in the air.

But during this Christmas season, during this time when the year is beginning and with all these things, it is also good to set aside moments to meditate on God’s faithfulness and his promise to us.

Isaiah 43, verse 1, says, “...now, thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not....”

Repeat those words with me: “Fear not.” Tell someone beside you, “Fear not.” That sounded very slow, very slow. Once again: Fear not. That is.... say it with confidence.

“....for I have redeemed you, says the Lord; I have called you by name; you are mine....”

Say this to yourself—put your hand here and say, “I belong to the Lord.” And the Lord says, “You are mine.”

“....When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you pass through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame kindle upon you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you were of great v....... you were honorable in my sight, and I loved you. Therefore, I will give men for you, or in exchange for you, and nations for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring your offspring, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up,’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made,’ says the Lord.” Amen and amen.

Father, we ask you to engrave these words of promise deep within our hearts today. Thank you, because when we enter into your Word, we find your fatherly heart again and again, assuring us that you are with us, that you never leave us, and that your faithfulness is forever; it is eternal. It cannot be diverted from its good purposes, Lord. This morning, we affirm your message of hope in our hearts, and we ask that your people be filled, Lord, with the assurance that no one can snatch us out of your hands. Thank you; guide us as we meditate on your Word. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen.

The beginning of the year is always a time like standing before an abyss and looking at what lies ahead, or arriving at a crossroads where two roads open up and feeling a little overwhelmed as to which direction to take. A year is simply a measure of time that we human beings have invented to package life and divide it into segments. And it is certainly a very important division. We think, wow, I have 12 months ahead of me, 12 have already passed, and perhaps at this very moment you are taking stock of your life, looking back from January until now, already at the end of December, at the things that have happened in your life—the good things and also the not-so-good things, the anxieties, the searching, the difficult times, the great achievements, the answered prayers as well, and perhaps a few tragedies or difficulties that have come upon your life, times of need, financial struggle, perhaps health problems, and many other things that can happen in the life of a man or a woman.

And now we look ahead, and the year 2008 begins, and we want to be sure that the Lord is with us, as the Jews said to Moses: “We will go with you, but make sure that God is with you.” And they also said to God, “Lord, do not bring us up from here unless you go with us.”

And we say the same thing to the Lord. “Father, do not bring us out—do not bring us out of this year without the assurance that your hand, your blessing, and your promise are with us.” And this morning I want to share words of encouragement with you, words of hope, assuring you that the Lord certainly has a good purpose for our lives—a purpose specifically for your life.

These words of the prophet Isaiah, which the Lord places in his spirit, are addressed by God specifically to the people of Israel—a people who have been unfaithful to the Lord, a people who have sinned against God, practiced idolatry, worshiped other gods, gone after other religions, and morally defiled themselves with impure rituals, demonic rituals. They have been unfaithful to the Lord, who has given them so much, and therefore they are facing the threat of a very powerful nation, Assyria, which is much more powerful than they are and has already wreaked havoc on previous occasions; and as they face this, God is prophesying exile to them, prophesying national catastrophe.

And the book of Isaiah seems to swing back and forth, torn between words of condemnation from God against that unfaithful people and words of hope, confidence, and encouragement for them because, brothers and sisters, God’s heart is a fatherly heart; it is a generous heart, a heart of love, a heart that, even while administering punishment, is already thinking about how to heal the wound and how to make a way for reconciliation with his children possible.

Now, we can say that although this word was written to Israel centuries ago, we too can be certain of one thing: those words of blessing and promise are also for us, for every one of you and for me as well this morning. They are words that God has recorded there—eternal words, unchanging words—to which we can return again and again and say, “That is a portrait of me.” That is God’s intention for my life.

When we enter the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we walk according to the Word of God, when we bind ourselves to the ways of the Lord, brothers and sisters, we can be certain that God will be with us wherever we go. The Lord will fulfill his promises in our lives.

So, this morning I beg you to believe and not to doubt that this word is for you in the year 2008 and in the years to come as well. The Lord will make this word true in your life.

Look at the word “now.” The translation of the original Hebrew is even clearer in English; in English it says, “but now.” That “now” is more like saying, “Well, something happened before, but now this is what you can expect from me.”

And that “but now” refers to what is in the previous chapter, which is a word of condemnation for Israel. And it is also a word of punishment for Israel because Israel behaved badly and did not do everything God wanted Israel to do.

Look, for example, at Chapter 42, verse 18. It says, “...Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger whom I send?....” And it says, “...Who is blind like my chosen one, and blind like the servant of the LORD, who sees many things but does not pay attention, whose ears are open but does not hear?....” Verse 22 says, “...But this is a people robbed and trampled upon. All of them are trapped in caves and hidden in prisons; they have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been despoiled, with no one to say, ‘Restore them.’ Who among you will hear this? Who will pay attention and listen concerning the future?...”

And God says in verse 25, “...He poured out upon that unfaithful people the heat of his anger and the violence of war. It set them on fire all around, but they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart....”

The Lord is recounting there, describing his struggle throughout the centuries with this unfaithful nation, which has rejected him again and again and exchanged him for other gods even though God has continually remained faithful to it; and he has had to send judgment and punishment upon that nation.

So now, when Chapter 43 says “now,” it is saying, “But now, at this moment in my relationship with you, I have something else for you; I have blessing for your life....”

And I give this account for the following reason: because many times we, like Israel, have offended the Lord, strayed from his ways, and failed to do what God expects of us. And there are many people who may have offended the Lord and cannot believe that God has something good for their lives. Many times, we neutralize the blessings God wants to give us because we do not believe that, after everything I have done in my life, God can bless me. Perhaps this year you have failed the Lord in some way; perhaps you have been unfaithful to the Lord in some way, and you think, “There is no longer any hope for me; the Lord has already cut me off from his mercy.” Well, I want to tell you that if God was able to forgive Israel, and if God was able to have a heart of blessing toward Israel, such a stubbornly unfaithful people, the Lord can certainly have that same blessing and goodness for you as well, if you walk with him and repent of your sin, right? Because it is not simply a matter of saying, “Well, I am under the Lord’s grace, and I can do whatever I please.”

But, brother, I want to tell you that through Christ Jesus you can find forgiveness for your life, and God is more than willing to send his grace upon you, cover you with his protection, and give you his provision. Amen. I want you to believe that. Do not allow the devil to fill you with guilt either.

Now, I always say, brothers and sisters, that the safest place for a child of God is in obedience, walking uprightly in the ways of the Lord, because there the enemy cannot wreak havoc on our lives. But certainly do not allow the mistakes, the failures of the past, or the things you may have experienced this year to rob you of the vision of this one thing: God’s intention, desire, and purpose now is to bring blessing into your life, straighten the crooked paths, and provide for your every need.

If he did it for Israel, then he will certainly do it under this new administration of the Kingdom of Christ Jesus and of the grace of God—especially since you are covered by the blood of Jesus. We who are in Christ Jesus have even more reason to expect good things from the Lord in this coming year.

The Lord says to Israel a little later, “...Thus says the LORD....” Whenever the Lord says that, it is because he has something solemn, something powerful, to say. I believe that, in this sense, by saying, “Thus says the LORD,” God is making a commitment. The Lord’s purposes for you are firm; his desire to do good in your life is certain. God is not going to change. I assure you that if the Lord said it, he will fulfill it; he is committed by his character to give you the blessings he has declared over your life.

“Thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel....”

Pay attention to those two words: your Creator and your Former. Why is he saying that? Because he wants those people to be certain that God was with them at the very beginning of their life as a nation, and that therefore he who was there at the beginning.... When God forms someone, when God creates someone, he does not wash his hands of that person. When God creates something, God commits himself because he has a purpose.

God is not a superficial creator who creates things and then simply forgets about them. We see that God has remained attentive to his creation; God created the world and is still involved in the world. God created mankind and continues to deal with mankind. God created Israel and says to it, “I am your Creator; I am your Former, Israel, and therefore I will not wash my hands of you.”

Something that always makes an impression on me is the Lord’s faithfulness. God is not a superficial God, as we are when we so often begin things and profess eternal love to the Lord, but then, as the days go by, all that emotion dissipates, and we forget and become entangled once again in the world, in our sins, in our passions, or whatever it may be.

Brother, when God gives his heart, his faithfulness, and his love, he remains right there, holding fast. He is saying to Israel, “I formed you, I created you, I called a man named Abraham, I have come with you through all the centuries, and I will be with you until the end.”

Do you know what? God created you too. The Word of the Lord says that God formed us in our mother’s womb. God formed our bones; God had a purpose in bringing us out of our mother’s womb; God spoke life over what did not exist and created you. And he was involved in the formation of your life. God has been with you since your mother’s womb; he was with you at your birth and has been with you throughout all these years of life—in your struggles, your trials, and your tribulations. He formed you; he created you. And that means that he will remain committed to you until the end. God will not leave you. He is your Former.

That word is important because human beings often want to portray God simply as a God who created the universe, wound it up, and released it to continue operating according to the laws he placed upon the universe. But that would mean that God is not intimately involved with his creation.

What I see throughout all of Scripture, brothers and sisters, is that God is intimately involved in your life. God is with you in every situation. It is hard to believe that, because sometimes life has its twists and its struggles and its tribulations, and you say, well, where can God be in all of this? Well, He is working through every process in your life; sometimes He is using the difficulties, the struggles, the waiting, the silences, to shape you into a man or woman who is more like Christ, a person who is patient, humble, forgiving, tender, merciful toward others, not so proud or self-assured—which so often gets us into so much trouble—not so sensual, not so dependent on the opinions and manipulations of others. And many times God has to allow struggles and difficulties to come into our lives. Sometimes He wants to bless someone else through our suffering. We often do not know why so many difficulties come into our lives, but God says, ‘Look, I have formed you, I have created you, I am committed to you, I am going to walk with you. Do not worry; He who began the good work will be faithful to finish it.’

And how beautiful that He says here, ‘...the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel...’

He uses the two personal names that God often used as metaphors for Israel: Jacob and Israel, two names among Abraham’s descendants.

Now, it is interesting that in verse 24 of the preceding chapter, chapter 42, the Lord says, “...who gave Jacob as plunder, and handed Israel over to the looters? Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?...”

In this verse 24 of chapter 42, Jacob and Israel are used negatively. Now, in chapter 43, verse 1, they are used positively: God is Jacob’s creator and Israel’s maker. It is as though God’s love is neutralizing His judgment. It is as though God were saying, yes, I handed Israel and Jacob over as plunder and spoil, but now I want to bless them.

Brothers and sisters, once again, God’s anger lasts for a moment, God’s punishment lasts for a moment, God’s discipline lasts for a moment. But in the end, God’s mercy always neutralizes it; it is as though God were saying, yes, I am going to neutralize the negative things I did to Jacob, to Israel, with positive things, with that image of Me as their creator, as their maker. God is with us, brothers and sisters.

Then He says to Israel, ‘...Do not fear, for I have redeemed you...’

The word ‘redeem’ means to purchase out of slavery. The word redeem means that a person was enslaved, was in captivity, and God came and paid the price for that person’s freedom. And God redeemed Israel on several occasions: He redeemed Israel from the Egyptians when they were slaves in Egypt, and He also redeemed Israel many times from its oppressors, and He says, ‘I have redeemed you.’

To redeem is something very powerful because it means that God has made a commitment there. And you know what, brothers and sisters? God has redeemed us too. God could say, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I sent My Son Jesus Christ to die for you on the cross of Calvary. I gave My greatest possession; I gave up My only begotten Son for you, and therefore do not fear. If I did that, I can do all the other things.’

It is as though God were saying, ‘Look, if I bought you, if I brought you out of captivity, surely everything else is almost secondary. I redeemed you, and therefore, if I redeemed you, no one can put you back into slavery.’

In Romans, chapter 8, verse 31 says, ‘...What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare even His own Son...’

Do you see the idea there? God did not spare His Son; that is, He did not consider His Son too precious to give Him up for us. He gave Him up; He gave Him,

“...He who did not spare even His own Son in order to redeem us, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also, together with Him, give us all things...”

If God redeemed you by giving up His Son Jesus Christ, He is telling you, do not worry; everything else is easy, it is simple. I will take care of it; I am with you. And if I redeem, no one can enslave. If I redeem, no one can put you in prison again...

The writer of Romans, the Apostle Paul, says, ‘Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is the one who will condemn? It is Christ who died. More than that, who also rose, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation or distress, persecution or hunger or nakedness, or danger, or sword. Rather, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us...’

Glory to the Lord. In other words, God has redeemed us. If God redeemed you, if God bought you with the blood of His Son. If God made the greatest sacrifice anyone could imagine, look, how will He not also give you all the other things along with Him? That is what I believe it means. Do not fear; I have redeemed you, because I have redeemed you.

Look, if Christ has already bought you with His precious blood, the other things are very small matters. Remember that. You have a seal that no one can take away from you. Your eternal destiny is already secure. The other things here in this world are temporary; they are secondary, because God redeemed us.

And He says to Israel, ‘...I have named you...’

Again, in the translation I read in English a short while ago, it says, ‘I called you by your name.’ I like that idea better. God knows you by name. Many people have that general sense of God’s mercy and love, as though God loves His children, God loves His creation, God loves humanity, God loves the church, but they find it hard to have that personal sense of God’s mercy and love for them, for me and for you. It is as though they find it hard to put their own name there.

I do not know how many of you feel, brothers and sisters, the way I do, but I feel that God knows me by name and that I am intimately involved with Him, that God is involved with me in every drama of my life, every aspect of my life, that in every situation I go through, the Lord knows what I am going through, and that I can have a continuous dialogue with Him. Do you feel that way this morning?

When you are at work, when you are driving on the highway, when you are living through the dramas of your life, can you believe that God knows you by name, that He calls you by your name, that you are not a Social Security number, you are not an anonymous person, that God is involved in the dramas of your life and that He cares about what is happening to you personally, that He is not too busy to concern Himself with what you need in your life?

If we cultivated, brothers and sisters, that sense of the personal nature of God’s relationship with us, our lives could be very different, you know? We would pray to the Lord more; we would cry out to Him more when we are in difficult situations; we would believe more confidently that He is going to intervene in my situation; we would believe that He has a special destiny for my life; and then we could receive more of the Lord’s grace and life within us.

I encourage you this Christmas and in this coming year to believe: God knows you by name. God has written in His book all the things that are happening in your life and all the things that are yet to happen.

The psalmist David says, “...and in Your book were written all those things that were later formed, without one of them being missing...”

Look, the things God has destined for you will come in the name of Jesus. If you hold fast to your God, if you believe in your God, if you walk with your God, if you remain there holding fast to the truth that God has a calling for your personal life, that He is involved in your life, no one can take away from you the things God wants to do in your life.

“Do not fear, because I know you; I have named you.”

When God gives you a name, listen to me, that means that... because in the Old Testament names also involved destiny; the purposes of God were involved in names. If God gave a person a name, it was because that individual’s destiny was contained in that name; that individual’s relationship with God was contained in it. So if God has given you a name, that means you have a destiny in God, that God has a purpose for you, that God has given you an identity, and that what you must do is find that identity and walk in it. Do not stray; do not step outside the purpose of the identity God has for your life.

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom: Lord, what do You want from me? What is the name You have given me? What is the destiny You have given me? What purposes do You have for my life? Help me to walk within them. And that must be your race, that must be your daily journey, your pilgrimage: walking in the destiny, in the name God has given you.

I have named you; you are Mine. And then He says, “...when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you...”

That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard in my life. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

What are the waters? Well, in a purely historical sense, the waters for Israel were those waters through which God had led them—literally, God led them through the Red Sea when Israel was leaving Egypt. The great Egyptian army was coming up behind them to destroy them, and in front of them was the great Red Sea. They were truly between the sword and the wall, literally—a wall of water. And what did the Lord do? He opened the sea, and God’s people crossed on dry ground. The Lord was with them.

And later, when they were going to enter the Promised Land, there was the great Jordan River, swollen in the middle of spring with all the snow that had come down, melted from the mountains, and they could not cross that either. And what did God do? He told them, ‘Put the priests in front with the ark, and let the priests go before the people; and when the priests’ feet step into the water, the river will open.’ And that is exactly what happened. The Lord opened the Jordan River, and God’s people crossed on dry ground a second time.

So when God tells them, when you pass through the rivers, I will be with you, He is telling them, look, I was faithful to you centuries ago, and I will be faithful again. The rivers are the obstacles placed in our lives, the difficulties that keep us from entering into the blessings God has for us, you know?

And God says, do not worry; when you are there struggling for something and the enemy wants to bring an obstacle into your life, when he wants to put roadblocks in your way, I will be with you. Amen.

And the word of the Lord says, if God is with us, who can be against us?... It says, greater is He who is with us than he who is in the world.

So whatever obstacle may be before you, whatever river, whatever sea may come between you and the blessing God has for your life, the Lord says, ‘I will be with you; do not worry. I will give you the victory.’

Now, brothers and sisters, it is important for us to believe that; if we do not have the faith to believe, many times those blessings will not come about. We have to believe it. I have lived my whole life, brothers and sisters, believing that, and I have seen the rivers open before me.

Listen to me, so many times throughout these years I have been able to see my Lord opening paths where there were only deserts and mountains, and God parted the sea so that I could cross. And I preach this word, brothers and sisters, with a profound conviction that this is a reality for all the children of God. But we have to believe it; we have to fill ourselves with that faith that the Lord says, ‘When you pass through the waters, no one will be able to keep you from receiving what you need.’

And the waters can also be anguish, because sometimes anguish is like rivers, like seas, that want to engulf us, that want to overwhelm us. The Bible often speaks about the waters, the many waters that want to drown us, that want to destroy us, that want to cover us.

And the Lord likewise says to you, ‘Brother, sister, if you are going through a time of anguish, of difficulty, listen to me: hold on to the Lord’s promise; cry out to your God. Believe that the Lord will bring you through. The Lord will never allow the river to overwhelm you. The Lord will never allow the trials to be greater than what you can bear.

Look at what 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 13, says: “...No temptation has overtaken you except what is human; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can resist, but together with the temptation will also provide the way out so that you may endure...”

In other words, brothers and sisters, nothing has come upon us—no trial, no temptation, no struggle in our lives—about which you can say, this is too great for me. God will always tailor the trials and the difficulties and the temptations that come into your life in such a way that, yes, there will be a way out, there will be hope. God will not allow the trials you are going through to destroy you if you hold fast to your Lord and cry out to Him and if you confess your faithfulness. The Lord will be with you. He will not allow you to have to go farther than you have to go; rather, along with your trial, He will always provide a way out.

I believe that, brothers and sisters; my motto in life is, “There is always a solution.” I believe that in small things as well as in big things. When I have a problem, a difficulty in my life, I always tell myself, “There is always a solution.” And sometimes I am stubborn about it, and people say to me, “But what are you looking for? Can’t you see that this is not the way to do it?” I say, “No, with God there is always a solution.”

Brothers and sisters, I see that when a person persists and fills himself with that faith, God always opens up a solution; there is always a way out. Financial difficulties, family difficulties—whatever they may be—there is always a solution. Remember that. In Christ Jesus there is always a way out.

The water will not overwhelm you, the river will not drown you, and life’s difficulties will not destroy you. The child of God is more than a conqueror in every situation. Nothing can snatch you away from the love of God in Christ Jesus. When you have a problem in life, look, rise up and say, “I am more powerful than that problem in Christ Jesus. I have the solution to that problem, because greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world.”

That is the confidence: the river will not overwhelm you, the river will not destroy you, and the problems of life will not defeat you, in the name of Jesus.

Second Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 8 says—and even verse 7—“...we have this treasure in jars of clay...” Why? Because we are fragile... We have the love of God, the promise of God, the power of God, but it is in a fragile vessel; that is you. That is me.

“...But this is so that the excellence of the power may be from God and not from us...” And then it adds, “...we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed...”

The child of God may be in a tight spot, but there is always a little room to move forward. He will never be in a dead end; he will never be squeezed so tightly by the devil that there cannot be a solution to his problem, brothers and sisters. We may perhaps be troubled, but we must not be distressed. That is, in the sense of the Greek word, the original conveys the idea that we cannot be left without an option, without possibilities. There is always a possibility for the child of God, and if we are perplexed, we must not despair. Never despair, brother. Never tear your hair out saying, “There is no hope, there is no possibility.” Never throw yourself down on the floor in despair and cry out like those who have no hope. The child of God always has a solution.

Perhaps you are being persecuted, but do you know what? God will never forsake you: “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you, I will always uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness,” says the Lord. No matter what you may see around you, say, “The Lord is with me.”

Remember the image of Elisha’s servant when they were surrounded by the Assyrian forces. Elisha’s servant was desperate because they were going to kill them, while Elisha was completely calm because it was no great matter to him. In response to his servant’s desperation, Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.” And this servant’s eyes were opened, and he was able to see chariots with angels around them, even surrounding the Assyrian people who wanted to kill them. And then came Elisha’s famous words: “Do not be afraid; do not worry, because there are more who are with us than those who are with them.”

And that day there was a great victory. The Assyrians were blinded, and the prophet led them as though they were weak little boys; he led them and brought them into the very heart of Israel, and when they came to their senses, they were surrounded by the Israelite army. And the Lord even allowed Elisha to be merciful, because look, when God gives to you, God gives you enough to be a blessing to others as well. When God brings you out of your situations, you can be a blessing to others; you can be merciful, you can be generous, you can give, you can forgive, because God is with you.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.” The psalmist David says, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you will be with me.” And there is something else there: it says, “When you pass through.” It does not say, “If you pass through,” because, brothers and sisters, in the world we will have affliction. Difficulties will come, problems will come, and this year some scares will come along that we will have to go through from time to time. But do you know what? The Lord says, “Do not worry; go through it with me. Hold on to my hand. Trust in me, cry out to me, fill yourself with my Word, strengthen yourself in the Spirit, continue serving me, continue gathering with the church, continue giving to me, continue taking advantage of the teachings, continue transforming your mind through the renewing of your understanding, so that when the trials come, you will know what you have to do and how you have to react. But I will be with you. When difficulties come, my right hand will be with you.”

It says, “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flame kindle upon you.” Glory to the Lord. If dangers come into your life, if the fire of trial comes, believe that God will bring you successfully through all your difficulties; but hold on to your Lord tooth and nail. Now, what makes all of this possible in the life of a child of God? It says, “For I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior.”

The Lord invites his people to fix their eyes on him. Brothers and sisters, that is the issue: many times we do not see the glory of God in our lives because we wrongly fix our eyes on the trials, on the enemy, on the complexity of the circumstances, and on how difficult our situation is, rather than fixing them on the all-powerful God who is with us.

You see, because it says, “For I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior...” When trials and difficulties come, look, take your eyes off the giant, take your eyes off how difficult the situation appears, and fix them on your God so that your faith can remain strong. Because what happens? Many times the devil wants to hypnotize us, so to speak... Snakes can do that. People become so afraid of them that they seem to become fascinated and remain petrified. Snakes do that to birds; they do it to little animals when they are about to attack them. The little animals become so filled with fear because they see this terrible, sinister creature that they freeze with fear. Then the snake can calmly come, seize them, do what it has to do, and destroy them.

Let us not allow trials and difficulties to draw our eyes away. God says, “Look, you can trust, because I am your Savior. Look at me. If you cannot believe in yourself, believe in me; believe in my promise. I am your Savior. I am the LORD your God.”

Peter took his eyes off Jesus Christ when he was walking on the water. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on the water; but the Bible says that when he heard the wind and saw the waves and saw the storm roaring around him, he began to sink because his mind betrayed him. His mind told him, “Impossible! You cannot be doing what you are doing.” Then he had to cry out to Jesus again, “Lord, save me; I am perishing!” And the Lord reached out his hand to him.

Let us fix our eyes on Christ Jesus, brothers and sisters; let us always keep our eyes on the Word of God. Fill yourself with the Word of the Lord. That is why it is so important, as the apostle Paul says, again, to transform our minds through the renewing of our understanding. It is important for you to program your mind to live a powerful life, and that requires you to remain continually in contact with the Word of God, always filling yourself with the Word of the Lord.

A person cannot be a powerful and effective warrior unless he knows the Word of God, brothers and sisters. This year I encourage you to study the Bible, to take discipleship courses, to set aside time to study the Word, to read good books, to gather continually with the church, to attend a small group, to have wholesome conversations with brothers and sisters, to watch good programs on television, and to listen to good programs on the radio, because those things will program your mind so that your faith remains very strong and so that, when trials come, you will know what you have to do and how to react. Soldiers are continually programmed; they are continually made to do exercises and all kinds of war drills, and they are filled and indoctrinated with words of courage, manliness, confidence, and success, because their trainers know that the soldier needs that programming in his mind so that he can enter a high-pressure situation and act instantly.

In the same way, we too need to fill ourselves with the promises of God; we need to meditate on them; we need to fill our hearts with firmness and confidence so that, when the trial comes, we will know whom to look to. Then we can take our eyes off the giant who is mocking us and saying that he will destroy us, and fix them on the God who says, “Do not be afraid; I am with you. I called you by name. I am the one who formed you; I am your Creator; I have redeemed you; I forgive you when you fail, when you repent. When you cling to me, no one will snatch you out of my hand. When you pass through life’s difficulties, when obstacles to my blessing arise, and you remain steadfast, seeking and crying out to me, I promise you my blessing.”

Let us begin this year with confidence. Amen. Let us begin this year with firmness, with confidence that our God is more than faithful. He is with us; therefore, we have nothing to fear.

Let us stand up; let us declare God’s faithfulness in our lives. Confess right there that God is with you this morning, and reject every doubt; reject all negativity in your heart; remove all of it. Tear it down, cast it out, and say, “I renounce timidity, I renounce anxiety, I renounce fear, I reject the devil’s words of fear, I reject Satan’s condemnation and accusation, and God is with you. My God is faithful. God is going to bless me in my studies, God is going to give me success in my work, God is going to provide me with a home, God will not fail to provide for me financially, and God is going to strengthen my family.”

Think about what is positive this year, brother. Do not fight against the negative; instead, fill yourself with the positive things of God, because if God’s positive things are within you, there will be no room for the devil’s negative things. If your mind is filled with the promises of God, the enemy will not be able to put fear or doubt there, creating space for the devil’s attacks to enter. In the name of Jesus, we proclaim words of blessing over the people of God.

We bless the people of the Lord in this new year, and we believe that God’s blessing is with us. Thank you, Jesus; we worship you, we bless you. Oh Lord, my soul worships you, my soul blesses you, my soul glorifies you, Lord. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your great love. We believe your promises, Lord. We receive every one of them; we take hold of them in the Spirit, Father, and we fill ourselves with your blessing.

We worship you, Lord. Thank you, thank you, in the powerful name of Jesus. Glory to the name of Jesus.