“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Isaiah 49:15-16
God knows the right time to step into any challenging situation! If you will just give him some time to step into those things that you are disappointed about, those things you don’t understand or those things that weren’t fair, He can turn things around and close up every gap between where you are now and where you are supposed to be!
The situation may feel like a setback to all your effort, time and resources but it’s a setup! You are about to come out to new levels, you are going to go places you have never gone and see favour that you have never seen.
Stop believing those lies that you have had too many bad experiences and it has become difficult to receive a turnaround or God must have forgotten about you. No! God can not forget you. He said “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you.” Just look at what you have been through, it was all setting you up for something that you have never imagined.
If you stay in faith and give God the time, He will step in and turn everything around for your joy and happiness. You may have relationships that are strained, family members that won’t have anything to do with you, you think it’s always going to be that way, you are about to write them off – no, keep loving them, keep being good to them, keep praying, keep forgiving, stay in faith.
God sees what’s happening, He knows how to restore, He knows how to change people’s hearts. His hands are still on them, they may just need to go around the wheel a few more times. The timing is not up to us, it’s up to God. Will you wait for his plan to unfold? Will you not get discouraged “When is it going to happen? Why isn’t this improving?” it just needs some time.
When you understand this principle it takes the pressure off, you won’t live worried, frustrated, wondering when it’s going to work out. You will say “God, everything may not be perfect in my life, I am waiting for things to change, but I am going to enjoy today knowing that you are on the throne and that you are stepping into the situation.
In the scripture, we read about Moses and the other large numbers of Israelites in the desert. They were very thirsty and desperately needed water to drink. They finally came to this river and were so excited but the water was bitter that they couldn’t drink it. At that point there was nothing else they could do to get water and their excitement became a great disappointment. (Exodus 15:22-25)
God stepped into the situation and told Moses to put a certain branch of a tree in the water. When he did, the bitter waters became sweet. The people could drink the water and their joy was restored. Our God knows how to step into any situation and turn a bitter situation into a sweet one. He can turn a bitter loss, a bitter break-up, or a bitter childhood into a sweet one.
The fact may say there is nothing that can be done about the situation but God is supernatural. He turns things that are not possible into possibilities. Your situation may be bitter but when God steps in, the bitterness will be turned to sweetness, the relationship will be restored, the child will come back home and the dream will come to pass
GOD RESTORES RELATIONSHIPS
In the scripture, the church sent Paul and Barnabas on a mission, and they chose Barnabas’s cousin John Mark to go with them. Paul could have gone with anyone else, he was very influential and very respected. They went to different cities ministering and were having great success, but when Paul decided to sail to the city of Perga in Pamphylia, the Bible says John Mark deserted him. Without giving any reason, he went back home to Jerusalem. (Acts 13:13)
Paul was upset with what John Mark did. Not long after that experience with John Mark, Paul came in contact with him again and was about to make another journey, Barnabas said to him “Let’s take John Mark with us”. Paul wasn’t so forgiving. He said in effect, “No way. He is not coming back on my team and refused the request.
It was such a sharp disagreement that Paul and Barnabas split up. They were so at odds that they no longer travelled together. Paul chose Silas, Barnabas decided to work with John Mark and they went their separate ways. (Acts 15:36-41)
Nothing much was heard about Barnabas and John Mark, but Paul and Silas were everywhere doing great things. They experience one miracle after another. At midnight when they were in prison they sang praises and the prison doors opened. When they were shipwrecked on the Island of Malta, a poisonous snake bit Paul, he shook it off, didn’t harm him. He prayed and all the sick people on the island were healed.
There are chapters and chapters of how God used them. Paul went on to write almost half of the books in the New Testament. John Mark Barnabas’s cousin could have been part of this great experience God was doing through Paul. John Mark will regret not having to stick to Paul and for deserting him. It seemed like his own mistakes, his own poor choices soured his relationship and limited his destiny.
You may look back like John Mark thinking pastor, I should have stayed in that relationship and only should have been more committed in my marriage. If only I spent more time with my children. If only I finished that course where could I be now”? But God has a way of stepping into situations of such nature to restore all the wasted years.
Surprisingly, many years later while Paul was in prison about to pass. He was writing to Timothy and said “I finished my course, I have run my race”. He went on to say, “Timothy, when you come, bring the coat I left at Troas, bring my books and my papers, and one more thing, bring John Mark with you, for he is very profitable to me”. At the end of Paul’s life, he asked for those things that meant so much to him and John Mark was one of them. (2Timothy 4:9-13)
Paul wasn’t so forgiving early on, he didn’t want to have anything to do with John Mark, but God knows how to soften people’s hearts, He knows how to give you another chance.
Whenever God step into any matter He comes along with His mercy, favour and love! You may have a relationship that you think is too far gone, too much water under the bridge, you messed up, and they are not going to have anything to do with you. No, another chance is coming. You wouldn’t be reading this if God wasn’t about to do something unusual, something out of the ordinary.
John Mark thought he had missed his chance, that his bad choices had stopped his destiny, but here is how good God is: he not only saw his relationship with Paul restored, but most scholars believe that he wrote the Gospel of Mark. Who would have ever thought that after deserting Paul, after causing a disagreement that caused Barnabas to break away, many years later we would be reading the book that he wrote? What am I saying: God knows when and how to step into that situation to bring the best out of it.
Like John Mark your latter days are going to be better than your former days. Mistakes you have made in the past are not going to keep you from the great things God has in store for you.
Maybe you are not in the position of John Mark, you rather in the position of Paul. God is saying to you “Give them another chance, show mercy. It’s time to forgive, it’s time to release the hurt, it’s time to bury the hatchet, this is a new day”.
As you forgive, God is going to turn things around in your life. You are not just doing them a favour, you are doing yourself a favour. Make that call, tell your child, your parent, your friend, your colleague, your staff, your neighbour, or your boss that you have forgiven them.
God didn’t put them in your life or allow them to cross your part by accident. The mercy you show them is the mercy that’s going to be shown you. Life is flying by, time is short, and they are not always going to be here.
Paul waited till he was done with his ministry on earth, but he couldn’t say “I finished my course”, without saying “Go get John Mark”. He was saying “I’m not going to die holding this against him, letting him think that I’m disappointed in him, trying to keep him feeling guilty and condemned. When John Mark came and felt Paul’s love and acceptance, gifts that had been buried in him came alive, and visions that had laid dormant came back to life. He stepped up and wrote his book and saw God’s favour in new ways.
I believe today that God is stepping into different areas of your life. Whether you made mistakes like John Mark, or life threw you some curves at no fault of yours, God saw it. Your time is coming. He didn’t bring you this far to leave you, things that look like they will never work out in your health, your relationships, or your career, God is turning things around. God is still on the throne, He is working behind the scenes. Now, do your part: instead of living discouraged all through the day, just say “Father, thank you that you are stepping into my situation and turning things around.
As you stay in faith and expectant, I believe and declare: that things are turning around for your good. Like John Mark, you are about to see restoration, and grace to accomplish dreams bigger than you thought, your healing is manifesting, your freedom is manifesting, your promotion is manifesting, your restoration is manifesting and the fullness of your destiny is manifesting in Jesus’ name.
