His 12 year old daughter was dying – the light of his life. Although he was a respected, religious leader, he could do nothing to restore his child to health.
She had been to every doctor possible. No one could help her. She was weak from twelve years of bleeding and an outcast in her society.
Their brother was dead. He had been in the grave 3 days. They couldn’t understand why their best friend hadn’t come when he heard of the illness. He might have been able to help him.
He had everything a man could want – wealth, grown children who enjoyed being together, the blessings of God. All was taken away from him in one day. Then his physical health plummeted, and his friends concluded that it he brought all this upon himself.
She was down to the last bit of food for her son and herself. There was nothing in the pantry and no hope of any food to come. She had used every ounce of resources she had.
The city was soon to be attacked and captured by a foreign nation. Two men from that nation had promised her and her family protection and freedom. As she huddled in her home, waiting for her rescuers, she wondered if she had been foolish to trust their words. What if they had lied to her?
In every situation, a person has come to a dead end – an alley with no escape. They have exhausted all their options. They have used up all their resources. There is grief, sorrow, fear, anxiety, and little if any hope. These situations are God’s specialty! This is when his glory shines the most. This is when we see the power and might of the God whom we serve. He shares his glory with no one.
O, child of God, he wants to bless us with his power and might, but we need to be willing to go to the end of the alley where there is darkness and no hope of escape. He will not abandon us. He will walk down the alley with us and wait with us. He knows all about dark alleys. Remember Gethsemane? Remember the cross? I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be in a dark alley with than Jesus.
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