Category: promises

Leading or Being Led?

On By vickleaIn Admonition, promises, Scripture1 Comment

Throughout life, we make choices. One of the most important ones, of course, is to accept the free gift of salvation and enter into the promise of eternal salvation. But God doesn’t save us and immediately take us to Heaven. Instead, we are left here on earth to do the work of He who died for us and to follow Him where He leads.

I have been reading the story of the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. A lot of things have caused me to ponder but none more than the fact that God led them. They didn’t tell God, “Yeh, we have the map. We know where we’re going, so follow us.” God led them, on a circuitous route to be certain, but on the way He wanted them to go so that they could learn the lessons He needed them to learn.

God does the same for us. He will lead us as surely as He led the Israelites, away from sin and closer to our Promised Land, closer to Him. We have a tendency to get impatient and want to strike out on our own. Like an untamed horse, we don’t want a bridle or reins to guide us. Or like a toddler, we say to God, “I can do it myself.” But when we try and fail, we end up turning back to the place where we started and starting again. God is the leader, and we are not.

How do you know where God is leading you? You train yourself to listen and to hear His voice. He is as close as our next prayer, waiting for us to be still enough to hear Him. Instead, we have the television on or the music blaring from our device. The ads tell us we need a certain product, so we either rush to buy it or put it on our list of things to look for. Who’s leading us in these times of overwhelming noise? God is the leader, if we will listen for His voice to tell us the direction to go in.

I am short and getting shorter, and my stride has never been long. Often, I accuse my husband of not even realizing I am fallen far behind him because his stride is longer and his pace is brisk. I tell him that if I fall, he won’t even know it unless I shout out because he stays so far ahead of me. I like this verse because it reminds me that the Holy Spirit never walks too fast for me; rather, He walks with me every step of the way. He is there to help me to follow the Father, the leader of my life.

I am sure everyone reading this remembers playing the childhood game of “Follow the Leader.” The position of leader was held in esteem because they were the one who had us crawling on the ground, going down slides and swinging from monkey bars. God is the leader of our lives, always, if we give up the position of wanting to lead for ourselves or letting other people lead us. We can go astray; others may lead us astray. But God leads us in the way He wants us to go so that we will learn the lessons He needs us to learn. I am being led by a loving Father who knows what is best for me, and I hope that you are, too. This is not a once and done choice but a choice I make daily, to be still before God and find out His marching orders for me for that day.

Why Read God’s Word

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture4 Comments

If you want to have a relationship with our Creator, it is imperative that you spend time with Him. One of the best ways to do that is to spend time reading and studying His Word. That is where you find out about His love and His promises to each of us. It is hard for us finite beings to conceive of an infinite God, One who is not restrained by time and who set the whole world into motion. In reading His Word, we get a small understanding of who He is, more and more each day we spend time with Him. He shows us who He is, what His plan for the world is, and what His purpose for us is, all through His Word.

When you sign a contract, you think that it will all be carried out. But sometimes, that just doesn’t happen. Marriage comes to mind. Most of us enter into marriage with the idea that it is for life. Then, problems come up and one or both of you decide to “void the contract” and start a new life without that other person. I have never suffered that break in a contract, but I have had numerous friends and family members who have. Divorce is not an easy thing to go through because promises were made and then somehow broken. Sometimes our experiences in life keep us from wanting to have a close relationship with God because we don’t really trust someone we can’t see. After all, those we see are constantly disappointing us.

God is different in a way that is almost impossible to describe because each individual has to have a personal relationship with Him in order to get to know Him. And you cannot get to know Him without starting with faith and a belief that He will do just as He has said in His Word. The ironic thing is that you won’t know what is in His Word unless you read and study it. So, we have come full circle. Why read God’s Word? The short answer is to know Him. The real answer is to know who you are meant to be in relationship with Him. We were never meant to travel this world with unfurled sails and without a rudder or compass. God provides both in His Word, both the power and the direction we need to go. I hope that if you have not started already, you will begin a daily journey of getting to know the One who knows you best and loves you most. Just pick up a Bible and read God’s love story to you. I recommend that you start with the Book of John. Find a Bible plan online and stick to it. Get together with a friend or a group of friends to discuss what you have discovered about God each week. Establish a firm foundation with the One whose word never fails.

Hopeful Waiting

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture2 Comments

I learned a new word in my devotional this morning. It is “qavah” and the definition according to the online Hebrew dictionary is “To wait, to look for, to hope, to expect.” (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6960.htm) Isn’t that a perfect word for what happens in winter? Everything looks dead, standing or lying around in a state of dormancy while actually waiting for new life in the spring.

I think that is what we are supposed to do all the time. We may not actually be busy doing a lot, but we should all be actively waiting for the return of our Savior, the One who brings Resurrection life to all who believe in Him. Meanwhile, we need to listen for God to give us our marching orders for what to do while we wait. Just as the trees and flowering bushes know what they are supposed to do as they wait for spring, we know, too. We are to serve the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing and tell all the world about Him.

God is keeping us safe, even when the days are long and the ice and snow continue to fall. Imagine being enfolded into His arms and told to just wait for spring…good things are coming! Yesterday, I asked God specifically to show me someone with whom I could share His love. God, who never does things halfway, prompted me to share with my arthritis doctor that I may not be able to move well on earth, but one day I will be running in Heaven. He looked at me askance and rolled his eyes, but I think I planted a seed. Then my husband and I stopped at the Dollar Store to get cards and a few snacks. I checked out and rolled the buggy outside to unload. That is when I found an item in the bottom of the buggy that I forgot to unload at the register and pay for. So, I grabbed in, walked back in and apologetically told the clerk what had happened. She couldn’t believe that I would return to pay for something that she didn’t even notice I had. She informed me with a smile that I could have just taken it and no one would have noticed. So I told her, “But my God wouldn’t have liked that.” Her eyes got big and she replied that was a different thing to do, to come back and pay. So, another seed planted And these seeds were planted in winter!

It is not in my nature to be a patient in waiting. But good things take time, and God’s plans are the best ones. So, waiting it is, through the winter in which all looks dead. But God and I (and you, too) know that life all around us is not dead. It is sleeping and preparing for a wonderful spring! God made all of the seasons on earth and they have a purpose. We can learn from them, can’t we?

When…

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, testimony1 Comment

I think of the word “when” as almost like a promise. My mom used to say to me, “Your father will take care of you when he gets home!” Rather than be terribly frightened at the punishment that I knew would come, I was happy to know that daddy was coming home. That was because he was generally my defender and intercessor with my mother. He could calm her down, and although I might be punished, the punishment would fit the offense rather than the outrage of my mother.

The Bible has a lot of “when” in it. Here are two I found recently during my devotional.

Hidden within the context of this verse if the idea that I will get anxious. Never mind that the Bible also admonishes me not to be anxious, but to always pray. Never mind that I know that God is always with me. Sometimes situations cause me anxiety that seems to overwhelm me. I was once diagnosed with agoraphobia and spent months talking to a therapist so that I could go out into crowds again. Yes, I was a Christian then, but all of the therapy and the self-talk in the world could not convince me that it was “safe” for me to be among a group of people, particularly strangers. How did I overcome this disability? I recited Scripture, with my eyes closed. Then I would open my eyes and see things the way God saw them…just fellow travelers in a world that is not our home. I am thankful that God is always there to console me and remind me from His Word that He is there and will take care of me until it is time for HIM to call me home. I sometimes still have episodes where going into a room with strangers, or even on a highway filled with cars, I get anxious. God is faithful to remind me that He has never let me down and He never will.

I think this verse can be taken literally for me as well as spiritually. The joke in our household is that if there is one spot of ice, my foot will find it and I will slip and fall. In fact, I may even fall on dry ground. I sometimes fall for no reason at all. The last time I had a big, scary fall was several years ago. I was just walking from one end of our house to the other, and suddenly I found myself face down on the ground. Praise God that I didn’t break anything! I was quite bruised and very sore, but no broken bones. God took care of me even when I literally fell on my face. The spiritual part is when I start doubting; I consider that my foot slipping. Instead of being firmly planted on my rock of faith, I move and then I start asking questions. But God supports me even then, with His love and reminders of all He has brought me through and all we have to look forward to in the future, together.

So, it’s not an “if” for me…it’s a when. And I am grateful that God continually whispers His sweet words of comfort and reassurance for me when I am anxious and when I am falling. He lifts me up and sets me right back where I belong, on the solid rock of His love and grace.

“Are You There, God?”

On By vickleaIn devotional, promises, Scripture2 Comments

Sometimes, in very dark moments, as I cry out to God, I really want to know if He is there as He has promised. I want to feel His presence. God’s answer is found in His Word.

He doesn’t say He is taking a break, resting or on the phone right now with someone else with a bigger issue. He says He is always with us.

In my devotional on Wednesday (from ALL GOD’S CREATURES: DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ANIMAL LOVERS 2024), I read a quote from Cathy Mayfield that resonated with me and my propensity to doubt. She wrote: “‘Are you there, God?’” “‘Are you breathing, My Child?’ I heard Him say.”

Since I have struggled with breathing all my life, having been born with asthma, this simple quotation really spoke to me. Every breath I take is from God, and He is as close as my next breath. I thank Him for His reassurance and His constant presence.

Carried

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture5 Comments

Do you remember carrying your children around when they were young? I vaguely remember doing that, but I actually remember carrying around my grandchildren. The youngest is three now, and when he was four months old, I stayed with him for four months to take care of him while his parents worked. And, of course, I had to carry him because he wasn’t walking yet. In fact, he had just started trying to crawl when I returned home again. Anyway, sometimes I was a little afraid to pick up that little one because I am not always steady on my feet, but I prayed that God would help me carry Nathan safely, and He did.

I cannot imagine anyone carrying me these days. I am “pleasantly plump”, elderly with aching bones and don’t like to be touched much, not to mention carried. But the Bible says:

God is carrying me, in His heart and mind, all the time. He is ready and able to sustain me and rescue me, and He is the One who knows me best, since He created me. So, I am content in my Father’s arms.

Of equal importance is that Jesus is our High Priest and carries our names before the Father, right into His presence. Remember when Aaron, the High Priest and Moses’s brother, wore an ephod with the names of the twelve tribes on it. When he entered the holy place, he was bringing them before the Father. So, not only is God carrying us, but His Son carries our names with Him before the Father, letting God know that we are part of the family, grafted in or adopted as His children. What wonderful word pictures I had this morning in my devotional! I am old and gray…God is carrying me! I am a child of the King, and Jesus bears my name before His Father. How blessed I am to be carried, with no worries about God’s ability or stability. He is able and willing!

Do you at times want to lay down the burdens of life and just be carried away to a place of peace and joy? Then, imagine God doing just that. He wants to, and He will, if you will surrender those burdens to Him and allow Him to pick you up right where you are and carry you to a place where He can minister to you. It is in His arms that I find comfort, solace, rest and strength. I hope you find that, too.

Listening

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture4 Comments

Yesterday was my every six month visit with my primary care physician. One of the things that I do when I go to the doctor is tell him how I have been physically for the previous six months. Achy bones, visits to the ER, consultations with specialists, lab tests and results and blood pressure are all topics that I tell him about. Wonder what he would do if, after telling him all I had to say, I picked up my purse and walked out of the exam room? I think he would be concerned about my sanity for one, and he would probably insist that I sit back down and listen to what he has to say.

Sometimes, I think I go before God and tell Him my list of complaints, maladies and wish list, and then, before He can say a word to me, I get busy doing something else. Not very respectful, is it? God wants us to learn to listen to Him just as we listen to our doctors and others that we trust to take care of our physical body. God is taking care of our body, soul and spirit, so the least we can do is take the time to hear what He has to say.

God speaks to us in His Word, but we have to apply it to ourselves personally and ask the Lord to help us make His Word and its truth a daily part of our lives. We cannot know God’s teaching and commands if we don’t habitually and faithfully read and study His Word.

If I went into the doctor’s office, told him my problems and then told him that I knew just what he needed to do to make me better, I don’t think it would turn out well for me. One of us in that office has a degree in medicine and I’m not the one. It’s the same with trusting God. He is the only One who knows everything, sees everything and can point me in the right direction. I go to God in prayer daily, and I am training myself to be still after I pray and to just listen. God will speak to my heart if I will be quiet and let Him know that I am willing to hear what He has to say.

Taking up my cross daily means a daily denial of “me first” and consciously making decisions that put Jesus first. Sometimes, it means that I don’t get the things done on my “to do” list because Jesus points out to me the needs of others and that takes precedence. Jesus is first, others are next. I am last in my own list of priorities. It sounds like it’s backwards. But if you think about being on an airplane when the oxygen masks descend, you are always told to take care of the child next to you first (or the elderly person) and then put on your own mask. Others first…they yourself. I think I have shared it before, but there is an acronym for the way we are to make choices in life: JOY= Jesus first, Others second, and yourself last. That’s where you can find the joy in serving that God means for each of us to have and the denial of self in our choices.

I had a milestone anniversary this week! On Thursday, January 23rd, I celebrated ten years of being a stroke survivor! Praise God that He has kept me, is keeping me and will keep me…until He calls me home!

Omnipresent God

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, Song2 Comments

God’s attribute of omnipresence means that there is no where I am that He is not already there. I can’t run from God, hide from Him are escape Him. I don’t recall ever really wanting to be away from God, but I do recall times when I thought He was far away and not listening to my pleas for help or safety. But that is a lie from Satan, the one who does not have the powers of God and envies God, so much so that he tries to get us to believe lies in order to turn us away from God.

With grandchildren getting ready to graduate from college and high school this year, I am looking at the world and thinking what a scary time it is for them to live. But God has assured me and continues to let me know that He is watching out for them and He is there, right where they are. He was with Tyler on his trip to Europe, even while protests were happening in Germany. He was with Isaac when he had to have cancer tests again, the kind that make him nauseous. God is there because He chooses to be right there with us. He created us and loves us enough that He won’t step away and leave us on our own.

It has taken me a long time to come to the realization that God does not just take off when the going gets tough. He is right there, walking alongside me in the hard times as well as in the times of rejoicing. He comforts me so that I can comfort others.

As a finite being who can occupy one space at a time, it is hard for me to comprehend that the God of the Universe can see all of His creation and be present with every one of us all the time. That is part of the mystery that is God and knowing that He is God allows me to accept and just know in my heart that He is there, all the time.

His Eye Is On the Sparrow-Her Heart Sings

Finding Hope

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, testimony3 Comments

Hope is everywhere we look, but many of us are looking in the wrong place and to the wrong person for hope. For me, hope is found in the sparkling eyes of our grandchildren. They are hope for a bright and promising future. Hope is found in the rose bush that is currently dormant. It will bloom again in the spring, but right now it’s just waiting for its time. Hope is in the cardinals that hop around outside my window. They trust in their Creator to provide for them, and sometimes we help out by putting out bird seed for them. Hope…it’s in the trusting and waiting that hope is really found.

God is the God of hope. As we trust in Him, then we can have hope and the bonus of joy and peace. Thursday was a hard day for us here at the Watts household. We were awakened before six with the carbon monoxide detector beeping because the electricity had gone off. We waited quietly in bed for a few minutes, hoping it would flash back on, but since it didn’t, I got up and called Dominion Virginia Power. I went through a bunch of automated hoops and was ultimately told that I was the first one to report an outage and there was no estimated time of restoration. Knowing it was in the low teens outside, I fed our cat and went back to our warm bed. About nine, I got up again to a much colder house (it was about 58 degrees at that time, according to our thermometer on the wall of our bedroom), so I got my phone and checked the outage map. No info there, so I called Dominion again. This time, there was a technical issue, so I got to talk to a live person. She was very considerate and kind and said she did not know an estimated time of restoration but there were others out in our area. A few hours later, I checked the outage map again, found out that in our rural area, there were 160 people without electricity and the technicians were out trying to find the problem. The estimated time of restoration was by one o’clock. So, I bundled up and sat in my chair to take my blood pressure so I could take my morning meds. That done, I took my bundled self back to bed, with the temperature in the mid 50’s in the house now. I fell asleep for about an hour, got up and checked the outage map again. It had changed slightly. Now, only 111 were without power, so some had their problem fixed, just not us. I contacted the people in our small group from church and asked for prayer. Harry had surgery on Wednesday and was not feeling well enough to venture out to someplace warmer. So, we stayed in and bundled up as much as possible. One friend from church offered to let us come stay with her, which was very kind and offered hope (just in case Dominion couldn’t get the power back on that day). I was sitting in my chair with four layers on (blankets and jackets plus clothes and winter underwear) when I suddenly saw our digital frames come on. Then, I heard the heater start. Praise God! Our electricity came back on at almost exactly one p.m. Wonder how Dominion did that? So, I waited until the house got over 60 degrees and started to shed layers. I turned the breaker back on for the water heater. (Did you know that when the electricity goes off you are supposed to turn off the breaker for the water heater so the element doesn’t burn up? A good plumber friend told us that long ago when we first moved into our countryside dwelling.) Anyway, by 3 p.m., the house was warm, the hot water was restored, the electronic gadgets had been reset and I was finally able to do my online devotional. The plan is always to do my devotionals first thing in the morning before I get distracted or busy, but Thursday was a crazy day. Taking care of Harry, electrical issues, electronics issues and the cat kept me busy for a while. So, what does all of this have to do with hope? I HOPED that the power company would get the electricity back on soon and be safe as they worked. In fact, I prayed for the safety of the linemen that were out in the very cold weather trying to help me and 159 other families. I had HOPE that if our electricity did not return before dark, we could go to Bonnie’s house, about fifteen minutes away, and have warmth and light. Through it all, I had HOPE that God was with us and would keep us safe. And He did! We were not particularly comfortable in our many layers, but we were safe and warm enough that we could fall asleep in the middle of the crisis. I have to confess that I was not feeling especially joyful, but I didn’t feel frantic or out-of-sorts which is my usual go-to mood when things don’t go as planned. Instead, I felt peace, knowing that God was in control, of the weather, the electricity, the linemen and us as well as all the others in the same powerless condition as us.

Once the power came back on and I was doing my devotional, a truth struck me. We are all powerless without God, unable to function as we should and to carry on with our daily life because we aren’t plugged into our power source. He is our only source of hope in a life that has some unexpected surprises sometimes.

Believing God

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture, testimony4 Comments

I say that I have faith, but I have to confess that sometimes my belief wavers. I have faith that God loves me, sent His Son to die for me and that one day I will go to heaven to be with Him forever.

But when we are barreling down the highway at seventy miles an hour, my heart pounds and I am barely able to keep my eyes open when the trucks pass us. That is when my belief wavers. Is God really big enough and powerful enough to keep me safe in those situations? How about when my husband goes to visit his brother and I am all alone in the middle of the big woods? Every little sound sends me scurrying to turn a light on and to cuddle my cat. What happened to my belief then? Is God with me in the scary times, too? Or when one of my children or grandchildren is facing a battle against an injury or disease? How big is my belief then?

I came to understand this morning while reading my devotional that Abraham had faith, but he also still had doubts. God told him that he would become a great nation and Abraham’s response was that his servant would be inheriting everything. That sounds a lot like doubt to me. But God assured him that the son that he himself had with Sarah would begin a lineage that would bless the whole world.

I don’t often, maybe ever, get such an assurance from God about His promises, not audibly anyway. But I do read His Word daily and glean a lot of promises from that. Last time we were racing down the highway so fast that my heart started pounding, I remembered Ps. 121: 7-8, a verse that I memorized last month. “The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” Thus, the Lord really did speak to me. My heart slowed down, my breathing became normal again, and I was able to have a conversation with my husband. That may not sound very amazing to you, but it really was to me!

I am learning that my belief is in direct proportion to the word that I have hidden in my heart and that I can access whenever I need it. I am on week 14 of memorizing a scripture verse each week. It’s not a great accomplishment, but I am sticking to the plan and the plan is a good one. At least, it has been for me. My verse for this week is Isaiah 46:4. “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you, I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” That’s quite a promise when my bones are creaking and each movement feels like the floor is coming up to greet me. God is taking care of me every minute that I am still on earth, and I am grateful for that assurance.

Do you have any favorite verses that help you to believe when times get hard? Or even when things are regular but not exactly the way you wish they could be? Please share in the comments.

Speaking of comments, I just discovered that many of you have been commenting and I didn’t see them until yesterday when I accessed Word Press online instead of on the app. I am not sure why that is, but I went to the comments section online and forty-seven comments popped up. I will try to do better about checking that so I can respond. I sincerely appreciate your kind words, your advice, and your friendship.

I will leave you with the scripture verse that began my journey of memorizing, Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

Have a blessed day, filled with awe, wonder and belief!