When the Going Gets Tough - Matthew 27:64

"If that happens, we'll be worse off than we were at first." Back in high school, the football coach always yelled, "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going," as we ran wind sprints up and down the practice field! I'm sure he meant to inspire and motivate us, but it didn't seem so inspirational as we gasped for our next breath! This scripture was the conclusion of an argument made to Pilate by the Jewish religious leaders to explain why the tomb that contained the crucified body of Jesus should be sealed and a Roman guard posted. Of course, what the religious leaders tried to prevent from happening is exactly what happened, except the body of Jesus wasn't removed by His disciples but was resurrected by the power of God. Thousands of years earlier in Israel's history when Pharaoh ordered the murder of all Hebrew baby boys to prevent the Israelites from getting too powerful, Moses was born and saved from death and would eventually lead the Israelites out of Egypt. What Pharoah tried to prevent from happening is exactly what happened by the intervention of God. Later, when Pharaoh tried to prevent the Israelites from leaving Egypt and had them cornered at the Red Sea, God delivered the defenseless Israelites from the powerful Egyptian army. Again, what Pharaoh tried to prevent from happening is exactly what happened because God came to the rescue. In all these stories we see a pattern emerge: When it seems like things can't get any worse, that is when God is at His best and saves the day for His people. So if it seems like life is giving you more than you can handle, you can't, but God can! You see, when the going gets tough, God gets going!