The Old Testament lists many times of testing for God's people. Perhaps the greatest example was the crisis at the Red Sea. This crisis was completely arranged by God, set up by His very own commands to Israel. Scripture says that it was God who hardened Pharaoh's heart, caused the Egyptians to pursue Israel, and allowed the Egyptian army to overtake them by the sea.
God told the people to camp between Migdol and Pihahiroth, a location situated between two mountain passes, with the sea bordering a third side (see Exodus 14). The only possible route of escape was back into the wilderness and that was blocked by Pharaoh's approaching army. The Israelites were horrified at their situation but their God had led them there!
Let me point out something here: God could have arranged to knock the wheels off the Egyptians' chariots at any time in the wilderness, stranding them and starving them to death. But, instead, He waited until they were between the walls of the separated sea.
God also could have sent the supernatural cloud down upon the Egyptians' camp to confuse them. Those soldiers would have run around in the confusing mist for days. But, instead, He chose to send the cloud behind the Israelites as protection.
Or, God could have sent a single angel to slay the entire Egyptian army in the blink of an eye. In fact, He could have chosen to destroy them at any point. But the Lord did not do any of those things. Instead, He squeezed Israel into a tight, alarming situation, a crisis that was impossible to escape by human means.
I believe the Lord had two purposes in allowing this impossible situation for His people:
He was determined to annihilate Israel's enemies; never again would they have to look over their shoulders in fear. God was saying, in essence, "I'm going to strew your enemies' bodies along the shore so that you can see every one of them dead. Then you will know I have all power!"
God wanted to provide an opportunity for His people to put their lives in His hands — to stand still and trust Him to give them direction.
How do we know God arranged this frightful situation to test His people? His own Word says so: "Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no" (Deuteronomy 8:2).
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.