What God Didn't Say

As I woke up this morning and began to enter into my time of prayer and meditation, a new aspect to a person's faith walk began to roll around in my heart. I pray that your faith in God and His Word would be greatly encouraged by these few notes.
As we all know, people are motivated a lot of times by what God said, but let's talk a little about what God didn't say.

To Abraham:
Your wife will almost be taken from you twice.
Although you brought Lot along to help him out, he will turn on you.
You will have to take your trained servants and rescue the one who turned on you.
You will only have one son and you will have to wait for him for 25 years.
God never said in the beginning that Abraham would have to sacrifice his son.

Yet, through all of these circumstances, Abraham held to God and His Word. Why? Because of the joy that was set before him. See Heb. 12:2.

To Jacob:
You will be deceived by your father-in-law many times.
You will be run out of town by your angry brothers-in-law.
You will have to wrestle with God before returning home.
You will marry four wives and have 12 children.
Your favorite wife will be the first to die.

Still God proved Himself faithful to Jacob and His children.

To the children of Israel as they came out of Egypt:
One of the first places you will come to will be a place of bitter water.
You will come to places in the wilderness where there will be no water except by supernatural provision.
You will come to places in the wilderness where there will be no food except by supernatural provision.
God never told them how big the enemy was or how fortified their cities were. He just said that He would give them the land.
However, those that chose to have a vision of the Word, (Heb 12:2) went in to the promised land.

To David, the anointed king of Israel:
God never said that he would have to fight a giant.
God never said that before he could be king, he would be a hunted criminal.
God never said that he would have to build his army with vagabonds.
But David proved himself faithful to God and God proved himself faithful to David.

To Jesus, His only begotten Son:
There is no prophecy that said people would try to stone Him.
There is no prophecy that said people would try to push Him off of a cliff.
Isaiah 53:35 did say But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
However, there was never a prophecy that said exactly the harsh degree of pain and suffering He had to bear to pay the price for you and me.

Even Jesus went through a lot of things that weren't spelled out in God's Word. His focus was on the outcome, not the now. Heb 12:2-who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, David said this in Psalm 23:4-Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.

God didn't say to any of us exactly that we would be facing the things that we face right now. Jesus and the Heroes of Faith took joy in not what was happening now but at what they could see was coming to them because of the Word of God. Like David, they were willing to go through the valley of what looks to be certain death to obtain the goal that was set for them by the Word of God.

Folks, if you are like I am and you're going through some junk right now, just understand that this is probably one of those things that God didn't say. Let's focus on the things He DID say and lift our voices and hearts with songs of praise. Be greatly blessed in the Lord today and be mightily encouraged in His Word.

Love, Henry