To hear the audio version of this written devotion, CLICK HERE.

A statement, by simple definition, is a sentence that says something is true. Some statements are intended to make a specific point, to solidify an idea, concept, or validate a unique perspective. In believers’ lives, God consistently makes statements through certain situations and outcomes that confirm the truth of His word and remind us of who He is and what He has power to do.

In today’s message, God is emphasizing that some of your struggles, storms, and negative situations are simply setups for Him to make a statement confirming that He is with you—and that no weapon formed against you shall prosper!

 ***

This morning, my husband Kenya was sharing a news story with me about a local politician who got in some hot water for a statement they made. It doesn’t really matter what they said. The point is that it was viewed as controversial.

After learning what they uttered, it did not surprise me that it caused a stir in our local community. The backlash was so strong, in fact, their public relations team was forced to issue a new statement recanting the original one.

Now, the artful and very common way the PR team danced around and tried to clean up the politician’s initial statement was by saying that they “misspoke,” indicating that they inaccurately expressed what they were trying to say. But Kenya noticed something: this was not the first time this particular politician had said this controversial thing. Not only had they verbally uttered it on a previous occasion, but they had also posted it on social media before being forced to delete it.

“I think that’s what they actually believe,” I told Kenya. “But it’s just not acceptable to say it out loud.”

Over the years, as I have matured and been exposed to more people around the world, I realize that we are diverse. We are not a monolith. We don’t hold the same views on everything and that will never be the case. This is why I try not to spend time getting angry with public figures or random individuals that articulate viewpoints that differ from my own. I realize, though, that a lot of people do get upset—especially when it comes to politics which are polarizing by nature, right?

Politics are an entirely different beast. And since this specific local politician’s team knows that standing by such a statement could potentially isolate a specific voting bloc needed to win the election, well, they strategically backpedaled.

Look, in today’s polarized society, the truth is, like it or not, certain views can quickly get you banned, “canceled,” or labeled something undesirable that does not reflect your true nature. And I think in today’s modern world with this live-out-loud culture fueled by social media, people are a bit too quick to share opinions and make strong, bold statements without thinking about the implications.

What we say reflects our character, personal ideology, and opens us up to the opinions, judgements, and ideologies of others. Therefore, be prayerful about what you say, how you say it, or if you should say it at all. Ask God for His guidance. I certainly pray for guidance and wisdom all the time, because I know that if I am being led by God, I’ll do alright.

You see, whenever God makes a statement, He is able to back it up, defend it, verify it, and justify it through His word. God makes statements all the time. Just look in Scripture. He makes statements about Himself, the world, His plans. And sometimes, God’s statements are nonverbal; they are made through actions and not words. For instance, the Lord will snatch you out of a struggle to make a statement that He is a deliverer. He will turn an impossible situation around to make the statement that nothing is impossible with Him.

 ***

He made a powerful statement in 2 Kings 6:8-23. I love this story and have shared it many times. The events in this passage are set primarily in the regions of Israel and Aram, which is modern-day Syria, during the reign of the Israelite king, Joram, sometime in the mid-9th century BC. The story plops us down right in middle of a conflict between the Arameans, led by their king, and the Israelites.

At the core of the controversy is ongoing tension due to supernatural intervention that foils the war plans of the Syrians. Let me explain. Every single time the Aramean king plans an attack against Israel, Elisha, a prophet of God, warns the king of Israel, and gives him specific details about the planned locations of these attacks. So, basically, whenever the king makes a move, Elisha is always one step ahead, ruining his plans. It was like a never-ending game of cat and mouse.

Frustrated by this military leak, the king of Aram, who is unsure of the identity of the mole, at first assumes that the traitor is within his own camp. But the king’s men inform him that Elisha the Prophet of God is the culprit. He is the actual informant, not them.

Now, the fascinating thing about Elisha’s insight into the plans of the Aramean king is that he knew all the details of what the king discussed in his bedchamber. How could Elisha hear what went on in the king’s private space where there were supposedly no peering eyes or eavesdropping ears?

We know, according to Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place.” Then Psalm 139:8 says of the Lord, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

The Aramean king, however, clearly lacks understanding of the fact that there is no way to hide from, conceal information from, or to outsmart God. Therefore, he tries. Bless his precious little heart.

It kind of tickles me that the king calls himself planning a sneak attack against the very prophet to whom God was actively and repeatedly revealing all the Arameans’ secret plans. Nowhere in the king’s mind did it occur to him that sneaking up on someone with divine insight may be hard to do? Like, why did he not draw the logical conclusion that if the prophet could see and hear what was happening in the king’s private chambers, then he likely could not be defeated by a military ambush?

So anyway, one day, the king of Aram reaches his breaking point and is sick to death of Elisha messing up his military strategy. To nip this in the bud once and for all, he sends a huge army, including horses and chariots, to surround the city of Dothan where Elisha and his servant are staying. The Arameans rolled up deep!

 ***

Here’s something interesting I want you to pay attention to. Although God had been revealing the Aramean king’s plans to Elisha all this time, nowhere in Scripture does it say that the Lord forewarned Elisha that the army was coming to Dothan to get him. How come God didn’t tell Elisha to get out of there? Why not flex His power to reveal the opposing army’s plans once again?

Well, that’s because the Lord had other plans. God let the enemy surround the camp because He was about to make a statement about His power. God has already employed the strategy of revealing the enemy’s plans in advance—and multiple times at that. He didn’t need to make a statement about something He had already done. He was about to do something new and issue an entirely different statement about the range of His power, sovereignty, and wisdom.

We serve a God who has a diverse portfolio of strategies and plans, an inexhaustible well of resources, and unlimited wisdom and power.  The Lord is not a one-trick pony, meaning a person or thing with only one special feature, talent, or area of expertise. Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”

Friend, sometimes, the Lord will give the enemy permission to attack you to make a statement about who He is and what He’s able to do. God will let the weapon be formed against you just to demonstrate that it won’t prosper. He’ll let the war be waged against you just make the point that both the battle and the victory already belong to Him. Let the enemy fight against you, friend. He’ll lose every time.

In this story today, God is making a statement consistent with the one in Isaiah 8:10, which says, “Call your councils of war, but they will be worthless. Develop your strategies, but they will not succeed. For God is with us!”

Ah, that’s my Scripture right there!

In this same chapter of Isaiah, verse 8, God is revealed as Immanuel, a masculine Hebrew name meaning “God with us” or “God is with us.” So then, God is using this war as a backdrop to make a statement about who He is—Immanuel, “God with us.”

When Elisha’s servant noticed this huge, forceful, intimidating army surrounding the camp, he started freaking out because he didn’t know that Immanuel was with them. So, panic-stricken, he said to Elisha, "Master, what are we going to do?” He was convinced that they were about to die a horribly violent death that day. But Elisha, Mr. Cool, Calm, and Collected, told him, "Don't worry, my friend. There are more with us than there are with them."

The servant couldn’t see what Elisha could, until Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes. And God did just that. Suddenly, the servant observed that the hillside was filled with chariots of fire and angelic warriors ready to fight for them. Immanuel, God with us, showed up and made a statement found in Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

 ***

The place where the Arameans attacked Elisha and his servant, Dothan, is first mentioned in Genesis 37:17. Dothan, which was on the caravan route from Egypt to Syria, is where Joseph’s brothers mistreated him and sold him into slavery.

Remember that?

There are two wells located in Dothan that still remain today. In fact, the name Dothan means “two wells,” and one of the wells is called “the pit of Joseph.”

Now get the significance of this. We know that God took Joseph from the pit of Dothan to the palace in Egypt and taught us through Joseph’s life—and that infamous Bible verse in Genesis 50:20—that what the enemy meant for evil, God has a way of turning it around for good.

And here, again, we land right in Dothan. This time, it was Elisha and his servant in the place where the pit of Joseph is located. In this very setting, God, who is always strategic and does nothing by accident, makes a statement again.

Long story short, God blinded the Arameans, who were led by Elisha straight to Israel’s army which could have massacred the Arameans. Instead, Israel sent them back to their king looking foolish—and they never raided Israel’s territory again. Look at God making a statement!

What the enemy meant for evil—trying to figuratively put Elisha and his servant in a pit like Joseph’s brothers did to him—God turned it around for good to accomplish His purpose.

Somebody has been crying over your current predicament because you failed to understand something fundamental. God will let you get caught in what appears to be a bind, a jam, a seemingly unfixable problem just to show you that He is the answer. God is right there in the midst of the chaos, setting you up to see the profound statement He’s about to make on your behalf. Your natural issue is just the means by which God will issue a supernatural statement.

You may have a financial issue. A health issue. An employment issue. A relationship issue. A legal issue. A family issue. Or even an issue of blood like the woman in Luke 8:43-48. She spent all her resources going from doctor to doctor with no solution in sight. But, when she reached out and touched the hymn of Jesus’s garment, His power reached out and touched her. And instantly, she was made whole, allowing God to make the statement that if you can just touch Jesus, your life will never be the same again.

God told me to tell you that He is about to issue a special statement on your behalf. A Matthew 28:18 statement: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

A Numbers 23:19 statement: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

A Psalm 23:6 statement: “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”

An Exodus 15:26 statement: “I am the Lord that healeth thee.”

A Philippians 4:19 statement: “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

And an Isaiah 43:2-3 statement—which is the sweetener I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration—and it says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, give your issues to God, and watch Him issue a powerful statement on your behalf. Be confident in His word, even in seemingly impossible situations. Refuse to panic, even in chaotic situations. Cling to hope, even in hopeless situations. And God will use your life to make the unforgettable statement of Jeremiah 32:27: “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”

Now, let’s pray.

God, in the midst of impossible situations and unstable times, I humbly come before You, seeking Your guidance and strength. I acknowledge that with You, nothing is too hard or impossible. You are the Almighty God, capable of performing miracles and displaying Your power in all circumstances. Please grant me the faith to believe that You are working all things together for my good, even when the path is uncertain and the storm rages around me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!