The only way out of Egypt was through God’s leadership. The only way out of the flood was through it by obedience. The only way out of the den of lions was to believe on God to change a king’s heart. The only way out of the belly of the fish was through repentance. Countless examples in the Bible are recorded of hardships. And the only way out of them was through. And the ultimate example: The only way out of death on the cross for salvation of sins was through it.

I Corinthians 15:57-58–“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

The believers of old? Their labor of trust, obedience, sacrifice, and faith was not in vain because their victory was through God and Him only. And because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, He still honors trust. He still blesses obedience and sacrifice. And He always proves our faith in Him is worth every mile. That doesn’t mean things are going to turn out the way we want. Personally, our family is waiting on news to see if my husband has cancer. A big chunk of skin was cut out from his back last week and was sent out for analysis. And if the answer comes back that more testing needs to be done, are we still going to be steadfast? Unmovable in the belief that God is not lost or confused as to where we are? Going through trials in life can keep us humble in realizing that we don’t have control over many things. We cannot by sheer will make everything ‘go right’ in life. But faith knows that even when our ‘situation’ changes, God’s doesn’t.

Because God does give victory, our labor of trust, obedience, sacrifice, and faith are not in vain. Whether or not we see the victory here or in Heaven, God is faithful to His word. He doesn’t work by our calendar, clock, or time-line. His promises were from the beginning until always. Extending beyond life on this earth. His name “Emmanuel” means in itself, “God with us”.  No matter what we’re going on in our lives, He isn’t the light at the end of the tunnel; He’s the Light that gets us through it.