“And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does all this mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With the power of his mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, the place of our slavery.’” (Exodus 13:14 NLT)

Have you ever been in a situation where the only way out was God? In other words, if God didn’t come through for you, you were dead in the water. Maybe it was a report from a doctor who said, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing more we can do for you.” Maybe it was a financial catastrophe that had you on the brink of collapse. Maybe it was the death of a loved one when you thought, I cannot survive this. That’s the type of situation the Israelites faced in Exodus 13.

God had delivered them from Egypt and was leading them to the Promised Land. The problem was they were being chased by the powerful Egyptian army, and their escape route was blocked by the Red Sea. They found themselves in a seemingly impossible situation, trapped between an unconquerable army and an impassable sea.

The good news? God was leading them. “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37 NKJV). God parted the sea, and the Israelites escaped.

Have you ever looked up the phrase “But God” in the Bible? We see it in Noah’s story. The Lord told Noah to build an ark. Noah boarded it with his family, and they bobbed around in the water for forty days and forty nights. By the thirty-eighth day, Noah must have been thinking, This is impossible! I’m so tired of hanging out with a bunch of stinking animals. Will we ever find dry land? And then Genesis 8:1 says, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede” (NLT). But God.

We see it in the story of Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was falsely accused of a terrible crime by Potiphar’s wife and sent to prison. Talk about an impossible situation! But in prison, Joseph used his gift from God for interpreting dreams to help Pharaoh’s cupbearer. The cupbearer was released and went back to work for Pharaoh. When Pharaoh had a dream he couldn’t understand, the cupbearer recommended Joseph. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and became the second most powerful man in Egypt. A famine struck the land, and Joseph was put in charge of the food supply. And guess who came to Egypt to buy food? Joseph’s brothers, the ones who had sold him into slavery. Joseph said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NLT). But God.

Not even death has the final word. Death seems so permanent, so hopeless. But we read in Psalm 49:15, “But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself” (NIV). But God.

How big is your problem? How big is your obstacle? How big is what you’re facing?

The good news for you is that God is bigger and more powerful than anything you’re facing.

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Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. (James 4:13–14 NLT)

Life passes quickly, although it doesn’t always seem that way. When you’re young, life seems to move at a snail’s pace. I vividly remember being in elementary school, bored beyond comprehension. I was just waiting for the clock to strike the right number so that I could get up for recess or go home. It seemed like I was in elementary school for thirty years. Every day seemed to take forever.

Now weeks fly by in an instant. Another month comes and goes. And before you know it, a new year has arrived. Billy Graham was once asked what the greatest surprise of his life was. He replied, “The brevity of it.”

Researchers tell us that the reason life seems to go faster when you’re older is that you’re not having as many new experiences. You get into routines. You go to the same restaurant, you sit at the same table, you order the same thing off the menu. Apparently, variety is not just the spice of life; it’s also the slow-er of time.

James compared life on this earth to a morning fog: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here for a little while, then it’s gone” (James 4:14 NLT). But he didn’t mourn life’s shortness. Instead, he urged believers to embrace the challenge of living a meaningful, fulfilling, godly life—a life that matters—all the while realizing that that life could end at any moment. He continued, “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (verses 15–16 NLT).

He was talking about living with a sense of urgency. That’s not the same as rushing into things. There’s certainly nothing wrong with methodical thinking or long-range planning. The mistake comes in taking for granted that we have the time to do what needs to be done. The mistake comes in assuming that we know how things will play out.

God has surrounded us with opportunities. To unlock the power of prayer in our lives. To take deep dives into His Word and come away with a greater understanding of Him and His will. To share the amazing truth of Christ with people who don’t know Him. To use the gifts He’s given us. To make a difference in the lives of people in need.

No matter how many years God allows us to live, we don’t have enough time to become complacent about seizing those opportunities. We don’t have enough time to procrastinate.

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Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison. (Acts 8:1–3 NLT)

We all know many non-Christians, but I want you to think of someone who’s an antagonistic unbeliever. Maybe it’s a neighbor, spouse, parent, coworker, or someone else. Not only does this person reject Christianity, but they also give Christians a hard time about their faith.

Today, I want you to pray for that person by name, that God would get ahold of them and bring them into His kingdom. Why? Because no one is beyond the reach of God. That’s something we all need to remember. No one is unsavable, even if they seem that way. No matter how much of a mess they’ve made of their life. No matter how many bad decisions they’ve made. No matter how severe the consequences have been. No one is beyond the reach of God.

Our tendency is to say, “That person will never change. That addict will never stop using. That alcoholic will never stop drinking. That person will never stop living that way.” But that’s short-sighted, isn’t it? Because, with God, all things are possible. He can change anyone.

And consider this: That person who is so antagonistic toward the Christian faith actually may be closer to the kingdom of God than you imagine. Their extreme opposition may be due to the fact that they’re under the conviction of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we see in Acts 8, in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.

It’s hard to overstate how much Saul (also known as Paul) despised Christianity. He presided over the death of Stephen, the courageous first martyr of the church. He forced Christians to scatter to foreign lands with his campaign of terror. He imprisoned believers in his quest to destroy the church.

And then one day Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. And he experienced the most radical and unlikely conversion in church history. It was so unexpected that the believers who heard about it dismissed it as a lie or a trick on Saul’s part.

But it was genuine. The man who had previously dedicated his life to the destruction of the church now dedicated it to the spread of the church. He, who had been controlled by hate, was now motivated by love.

No one is beyond God’s reach. So keep praying for that person who rejects you and your gospel message. Don’t get discouraged. Let the joy of Christ continue to shine through you. Keep the lines of communication open. Even the strongest opposition can weaken over time.

Take comfort in the words of Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (NLT). That’s some hard-earned wisdom right there—straight from the apostle Paul himself.

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