God Will Make a Way Where There Seems to Be No Way

 August 12, 2026

Don Moen has lightened many a burdened heart with his assuring song of God’s goodness. The lyric states, “By a roadway in the wilderness, He'll lead me. And rivers in the desert will I see. Heaven and Earth will fade. But His Word will still remain. He will do something new today”.

From Abraham to Jesus to the priest ministering to a far-flung Parish, each one set on doing God’s Will is led as the song intones, “He will be my guide. Hold me closely to His side. With love and strength for each new day. He will make a way, He will make a way”.

Those possessing large landholdings for residential and commercial development must plan well in advance to generate sizeable returns on their investments, including the cost of developing property and its marketing and sale. The big developers create an ecosystem around them – an information network – that alerts and informs their decision-making. The system is built to ensure financial returns on their investment.

Then we have the Catholic Church – with a single North Star - staying true to a mission given 2000 years ago by the resurrected Christ. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” - Mk 16:15. The Catholic Church invests in land decades in advance to build schools, hospitals, formation centres and churches in often isolated areas with a priest or pair of religious living on the land battling the elements. It is mission work. Their dependence is on Him. He will make a way when they face difficulties which are often legendary.

‘Going into the world’ spawns the notion of a series of journeys criss-crossing the earth from the North to the South Pole and to every inhabited and uninhabited surface of the earth. That’s what Jesus’ apostles and disciples did then, and continue to do today, not for personal gain, but for the salvation of mankind, at least from the Christian perspective. A mission that is expected to continue till the last man, woman, and child have heard the Gospel preached to them.

⁷ And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.– Mk 6:7-9

The recorded biblical journeys begin with Abram: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” – Gen 12:1. The land shown to Abram was the land of the Cannanites.

The boundaries of Canaan covered the most strategic location on earth, immaculately chosen by the Creator of the universe for the spread of the Gospel. The Schedule (as in any land transaction) would show the Mediterranean Sea to the West; the southern end of the Dead Sea to the East; Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath to the North; and the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom to the South onto Egypt – connecting Africa, Europe, and Asia - three known inhabited continents 4000 years back. “‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’” Read Numbers 34:1-12; Ezekiel 47:13-20 for a detailed description.

In 336 BC, Alexander assumed his father’s throne in Pella, Macedonia and began to conquer the entire Persian Empire, which included the Northwestern part of India – the Punjab and Sindh - where he confronted and defeated King Porus at the Battle of Hydaspes (where his army, fatigued to the core after 11 years of battle, mutinied) - and then down to the Indus Valley. In 325 BC, part of Alexander’s army made their homeward journey to Macedonia by sea, while Alexander and the rest of the army marched by land.

A short, speedy, 13-year campaign changed the Greco-Roman world forever. Alexander did not get back to Macedonia to sit on his throne, which he had hardly graced after his father’s death. He fell ill and died in 323 BC, drinking in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II. He was just 32 years old, nearly half of which was spent on the battlefield shedding blood.

Alexander Hellenized the conquered territories. Greek language and Greek culture permeated every aspect of local population life – making the spread of the Gospel swifter out of Canaan because of a common language and culture and the roads laid by the Romans, an empire that lasted for 1400 years – the Greco-Roman world from the 8^th Century of Homeric epic to the collapse of the Empire in 476 AD. And then the Ottomans arrived. Islam began to dominate, with Christianity in retreat with the capture of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey today) – the nerve centre of Christianity before the transition to Rome.

God had made a way where there seemed to be no way.

During his rampaging march from Macedonia through the Persian Empire, Alexander did not proceed from Tarsus to Gaugamela (now in Iraq) - a straight line. He took a detour to Egypt, conquering the land of Canaan, to visit the oracle of the god Amon at Sīwah in the Western Desert. Alexander Hellenized the Judean population. It is why we have a Greek Bible translated from Hebrew.

The immensity of God’s creation can be experienced with the concept of light-years. For most space objects, we use light-years to describe their distance. A light-year is the distance light travels in one Earth year. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles (9 trillion km). That is a 6 with 12 zeros behind it! When we use powerful telescopes to look at distant objects in space, we are actually looking back in time. How can this be? Light travels at a speed of 186,000 miles (or 300,000 km) per second. This seems really fast, but objects in space are so far away that it takes a lot of time for their light to reach us. The farther an object is, the farther in the past we see it. Our Sun is the closest star to us. It is about 93 million miles away. So, the Sun's light takes about 8.3 minutes to reach us. This means that we always see the Sun as it was about 8.3 minutes ago. The next closest star to us is about 4.3 light-years away. So, when we see this star today, we’re actually seeing it as it was 4.3 years ago. All of the other stars we can see with our eyes are farther, some even thousands of light-years away.

God can see light-years ahead. His prophecies through the prophets are made 40 years ahead (Destruction of the Temple in 70 AD by the Romans, Mt 24:2 prophesied by Jesus) to 1,000 years to their fulfilment (The Crucifixion of Jesus, Ps 22:16). Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Messiah, Micah 5:2 in 700 BC. The Fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13:19-22, Jeremiah 50:39-40) — written about 150 years before Babylon fell. The rise of Cyrus 100 years before Cyrus was born (Isaiah 44:28, 45:1). So on and so forth.

For the diligent and watchful, God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit is ever-present, if you are willing to look and see, hear and listen. A difficult proposition that needs to be worked on, for the Word of God says, ‘Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”’ – Mt 13:14

-        Mathew Anthony

Reflections - Limitation as Strength

Limitation as Strength

Detrimental only if not used to advantage

The conquests began from an apparent limitation. Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 BC), better known as Alexander the Great, was still being tutored by one of the greatest philosophers of all times, Aristotle, in the martial arts and how to rule, when his father Philip II, the powerful king of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia was assassinated by a young Macedonian noble, Pausanias, for being denied justice. Alexander was 20 years old then.

 

His ascension to the throne was not a ‘walkover’. He had to fight for it. He quickly dealt with his enemies at home and reasserted Macedonian power within Greece. He then set out to conquer the massive Persian Empire.

 

Against overwhelming odds – which began with his ascension - he led his army to victories across the Persian territories of Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt without suffering a single defeat. His greatest victory was at the Battle of Gaugamela, in what is now northern Iraq, in 331 BC. The young king of Macedonia, leader of the Greeks, overlord of Asia Minor and pharaoh of Egypt became 'great king' of Persia at the age of 25.

Alexander’s army stopped at the outskirts of India. His men who battled for 13 years beside him against the strongest forces of that era, refused to budge from their demand to go back home to their families. Alexander had to give in. He sent them back by ship while he marched alongside on land perhaps not quite able to quench is ‘conquering spirit’ even when abandoned by his men.

 

Alexander died of a fever in Babylon in June 323 BC. When his body was being taken for burial to Alexandria in Egypt, one of the greatest cities he founded, it was stolen, and disappeared, never to be found.

 

Most people who rise to heights of greatness, rise despite or because of their limitations.

 

Abraham Lincoln was poor (born in a log cabin with not much to eat), was awkward looking with a gangly gait to match, with huge palms and funny ears. He incurred losses in business, personal loss of his mother, sister, child, fiancée. He had a mental breakdown, was married to a manic depressive, and had his own ‘dark night of the soul’.

 

He was believed to have a neurodegenerative disorder. He was defeated in State Legislature, US Congress and Senate elections 7 times overall, but when it counted, he won, to become the 16^th President of the United States of American in 1860.

 

He was humane, focused, witty, tenacious, gracious, self-taught, prayerful (“Bible is the only book he read for insights and to illustrate his points and vision and dependence on God for victory in the Civil War of Emancipation of Slavery”), and his very last action before his assassination was to stamp the line on the US Coin, “In God We Trust”.

 

The impression produced by the size of his extremities, and by his flapping and wide projecting ears, may be removed by the appearance of kindliness, sagacity, and the awkward bonhomie of his face...--William Howard Russell in My Diary North and South, March 27, 1861

When he was with me, I have seen him get a case and seem to be bewildered at first, but he would go at it and after a while he would master it. He was very tenacious in his grasp of a thing that he once got hold of. --Stephen Logan in the Lincoln Centennial Association Bulletin, September 1, 1928

He may not have been trained in much of the technical learning of the schools, but in point of mental development and mental discipline, the chief aim and object of education, he was highly educated. --Smith Stimmel in Personal Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln

As a writer he was fluent and forcible. His papers bore few marks of revision, and while his style was not Ciceronian, it was clear, pure, and easily comprehended. He composed letters amid distractions which would have appalled other men. --Edward Neill in Reminiscences of the Last Year of President Lincoln's Life

In conversation, he was a patient, attentive listener, rather looking for the opinion of others, than hazarding his own, and trying to view a matter in all of its phases before coming to a conclusion.
--William E. Doster in Lincoln and Episodes of the Civil War

Never did a President enter upon office with less means at his command, outside his own strength of heart and steadiness of understanding, for inspiring confidence in the people, and so winning it for himself, than Mr. Lincoln. --James Russell Lowell in the North American Review, January 1864

...he certainly did not dream that his principal duty would be to raise great armies and fleets, and the means to sustain them, for the suppression of the most determined and sanguinary rebellion, in defence of slavery, that our planet ever witnessed. --Henry Villard in "Recollections of Lincoln"

Lincoln was more familiar with the bible than any other book in the language, and this was apparent, both from his style of his illustrations, so often taken from that book. He verified the maxim that it is better to know thoroughly a few good books than to read many.
--Isaac Arnold in "Lincoln and Douglas as Lawyers"

The starkest example of people who make success of their life out of their seeming limitations are the comedians, vamps and villains in the movies. If not for their face or other awkwardness they would be unlikely candidates for celebrityhood. The clown in a circus gets his livelihood from being stunted; making his personal limitations a matter of joy for others especially innocent children who can stand head-to-head with him.

Some use their one core strength – their baritone voice – to cover up for their ‘non-chocolatey, brooding, even angry’ face and unusual disproportioned, non-six-abs physique. Those in India and fans of Hindi films know even before reading further that there is only one such person who fits the description: Amitabh Bachchan who continues to be the ‘Badshah’ of Bollywood, despite ‘chocolatey’ faced claimants.

What is key to the story of limitation that makes it a strength?

Three factors, really:

1.   Not wanting to be somebody else other than themselves

2.   Embracing their limitations and not shielding it from the world

3.   Unwilling to submit to stereotyping by others or accepting failure until the goal is achieved

We rarely hear of those who stopped short or gave up on their goals; much as we rarely remember who came second in a competition or was acclaimed for a historical achievement – stepping on the moon’s surface.

We all have our limitations and to our detriment we hide it well instead of letting it flower and serve the purpose for which we have been ‘blessed’ with the limitation. The limitations I speak of are not what we have brought upon ourselves through our disobedient, intemperate, imprudent, uncaring, and ‘devil-be-damned’ behaviour, but what is congenital, or result of an accident or sickness that we are called to bear.

We can all take comfort from the Word of God, which is the truth, and nothing but the truth (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)

“I saw something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; neither is the bread to the wise, nor the wealth to the intelligent, nor the favour to the skilful. For time and chance happen to all.”

The US Army with the English played a stellar role, along with Stalin’s Soviet Union in the capitulation of Hitler and Germany in World War II. There are three US Generals who prominently feature in any narration of the WWII. Two are familiar names: General Eisenhower and General Patton (more for notoriety). There was one other: General Omar N. Bradley, (12 Feb 1893 – 8 April 1981). He was the last of the nation's five-star generals.

General Bradley became deputy commander of the United States II Corps, fighting in the Tebessa area under General Patton. His main duty, however, was to act as General Eisenhower's eyes and ears along the entire front. (The quirk of fate, during the Normandy landing, General Patton reported into General Bradley, and for a reason).

Although Field Marshal Montgomery was in direct command of the assault landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, the command of the First Army and ultimately of the 12th Army Group was held by General Bradley through the remainder of the fighting in France and Germany. He was ashore fewer than 24 hours after the first Allied units hit the Normandy beaches.

After Germany's capitulation, General Bradley returned to Washington and took over as head of the Veterans Administration from 1945 to 1947. He then became Chief of Staff of the Army and served two terms as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, departing in 1954. He was made a five-star general in 1950.

The brief profile as it emerges in the above narration would give the impression that the three Generals topped their class at West Point.   

Cadet Bradley graduated 44th in a class of 164. General Eisenhower, a classmate, graduated 25th in the class. Patton struggled academically during his initial year at the U.S. Military Academy and was required to repeat his first year after failing mathematics. Patton worked with a tutor and redoubled his efforts to receive adequate grades the remainder of his tenure at West Point, eventually graduating 46th in his class of 103 cadets.

None of the three Generals topped their class. But they topped their profession. This is not to provide hope to those who do not study, but to those who due to limitations or out of other interests find it hard to be ‘toppers’.

As classmates at West Point, Eisenhower trusted Bradley to handle Patton, first as Eisenhower’s ‘eyes and ears’ when Bradley was appointed to Patton’s II Corps, and then as Patton’s boss, during the Normandy landing. In reality, no one other than General Eisenhower could manage Patton. General Eisenhower had the power to promote, transfer or fire Patton (very nearly did on couple of occasions).

General Patton was a maverick US army general, who was distinguished and distinct from all army generals active in WWII. He struck fear, as much in the heart of the enemy headquarters (read Rommel and Hitler), as well as, his own headquarters (read General Eisenhower) for his bold moves on the battlefield and erratic and emotional ways. On one occasion he slapped an infantryman in the army camp hospital for lying in bed with no injury; the infantryman was being treated for ‘trauma’ (an ailment alien to Patton).

We get a good insight into what leads to leadership from General Eisenhower’s his explanation to his HQ staff on managing Patton, when appointing Bradley to Patton’s II Corps:

The presence of a senior officer out of the chain of command is always irksome to the responsible commanders, and this occasion was no exception. But General Eisenhower appraised his men correctly when he wrote of General Bradley: ''He was a keen judge of men and their capabilities and was absolutely fair and just in his dealings with them. Added to this, he was emotionally stable and possessed a grasp of the larger issues that clearly marked him for high office.''

It is evident from these stories that none are born to greatness. Those who leverage their moments of crisis or God-given limitations, acquire traits that help them conquer empires, launch into celebrityhood, manage a country through civil war, or manage an army to thwart designs of evil men.

In times of economic crisis or forced lockdowns due to an infectious virus spread through community transmission (Covid-19) we are all challenged. It has separated family members across cities, states and countries due to travel restrictions. It has also forced the tormented and the tormentor to live cheek-by-jowl in close quarters for weeks and months. Between March 25 – May 17 2020 a Child Helpline has received over 300,000 calls for help arising from domestic violence.  

Every limitation when addressed can be a source of strength (the idea of a Child Helpline for children in these times) by conquering it and leveraging it to our advantage to achieve a personal or collective good (Alexander the Great marauding conquests, exempted).