Tag: promises of God

God’s Promises

On By vickleaIn Characteristics of God, promises, ScriptureLeave a comment

Cling to God’s Promises (Daily Refresh, 11-29, YouVersion)

What do you think about? 

The thoughts that fill your mind are crucial, because what you cling to influences your worldview. 

If you choose to dwell on God’s promises, you start to recognize God’s blessings during uncertain times. Trusting that God will redeem your present pain equips you to walk forward in faith and keep on fighting. 

Isaiah 12:2 reminds us that we belong to a God who is faithful to keep His promises. This God rescues us and fights for us. So when we belong to God, we have nothing to fear—all we need to do is cling to God and wait on Him to act. 

So as you walk forward today, reflect on some of God’s promises, and let them transform the way you think: 

God will sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)

God’s peace will guard your heart. (Philippians 4:7)

God delights over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

God will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. (Psalm 32:8)

God is your refuge and strength, your help in times of need. (Psalm 46:1)

In all things, you are more than a conqueror because God loves you. (Romans 8:37)

God will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

God’s perfect love casts out all your fear. (1 John 4:18)

Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39)

God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. (Philippians 1:6)

My Thoughts

First of all, the bold scripture passages are ones that I have memorized this year, but all of the promises of God are important.

Are you married or have you ever been married? Do you remember the vows you took that day? If you used the traditional vows, you and your spouse promised to love, honor and cherish until death parted you. That was a promise, a sacred covenant promise between you and your spouse, a covenant established by God when He gave Eve to Adam. I know that many have suffered the effects of divorce, and although my heart goes out to you, that is not the topic of today’s post. The vows remain the same, although some choices have been made to leave those vows behind and move on in life. God allows divorce but He doesn’t condone it because He is aware, as many of you are, that divorce hurts everyone touched by it and the healing is long in coming.

Back to promises. Has someone close to you promised you something and then didn’t carry it out? I don’t think I am in a minority when I say a resounding “yes” to that question. Whether the person forgot, circumstances got in the way or they didn’t prioritize the promise, I felt a little trust seep out. If this situation continues repeatedly, then trust evaporates and the relationship is likely broken, or at least irrevocably changed.

God does not lie and He does not break His promises. If He said it, we can trust that He will do it. He told Abram that He was taking him to a new land and his ancestors would be as numerous as the sand. He kept that promise, didn’t He? Even though Abraham was elderly and thought that he and Sarah would never have their own child, God blessed them with Isaac and the dynasty of Israel began. Think about the Biblical story that comes to your mind when you consider God’s keeping His promises. I think of David, Daniel, Moses, and yes, even Jesus. God promised a Savior and even though it cost Him a beloved Son, He fulfilled that promise.

Sometimes we want to force God into a corner somehow and remind Him of His promises, asking Him just when He plans to carry them out and make you the person He wants you to be. The answer is always the same. In His time, not ours. Remember that the Bible says, “When the fullness of time was come…” We are all a work in progress, but God is and always has been a perfect work, from infinity to eternity. One of His attributes is being a Promise Keeper.

I don’t know about you, but I think long and hard before I promise someone something. I want to be like the Father and keep my commitments, but sometimes I don’t and I always feel very guilty afterwards, even when I confess and the other person forgives me. God doesn’t have to be careful about making promises. They are already written in His Word, the treasure that we can find and hold on to in the hard times in our lives. Although other people may disappoint us with their lack of trustworthiness, God never will.

Promises of God

On By vickleaIn promises, Scripture6 Comments

The Bible is filled with promises from God, things He promises to His dear children, which is all of us who love Him.

Do you remember your parents making promises to you? I don’t remember the exact wording, but I remember things like “I’ll take you to the pool later” or “If you take care of your brother, I will take you to get ice cream later.” Unfortunately, some (perhaps many) of those promises didn’t happen. But I didn’t wallow in bitterness and self-pity because I knew that life interrupted those plans, so the plans (and the promises) had to change. I am certain that I told my own children many things that I planned to do and promised them we would do them…but then, life happened and those things didn’t.

The great thing about God’s promises is that He is actually able to keep all of them because He is in charge on the plan. Life doesn’t get in His way, circumstances don’t thwart His plan. He says it and He then fulfills it.

Do you see how these verses go together? God doesn’t lie. He fulfills what He says He will do. One of His promises is to watch over us, always. That doesn’t mean that we don’t get hurt sometimes. I have fallen more times than I can count and from my position on the floor, it didn’t look a lot like God was watching over me. But I know that He was. A few broken bones, but no serious damage or lasting harm. And each time I fell, I learned a lesson about how not to fall, like moving more slowly, not rising quickly and using my cane or Walker consistently. God watches over us, but He does expect us to use the tools that He has already given us to try to keep us safe.

Sometimes, the fulfillment of God’s promises don’t look like we imagine and then we start thinking that He didn’t keep His promise. Yes, He did and He does, just not always the way we expected. In the long run, what God does to keep His promise will be better than we expected and more than we needed. God does keep His promises in His Word, but sometimes we have to be in tune with the Holy Spirit to see God working in our lives as He fulfills His Word to us. If we are depending on our natural eyes to see God’s hand at work, we won’t see it. God is Spirit, and as hard as it is for us to understand, we cannot put Him in a box and say that He promised thus and so and it has to be exactly what we expect. Allowing God free rein (also reign) to work in our lives is the best way I can think of to release Him to fulfill His promises in our lives.

I am a person who loves to check off lists. So, here is one that I think you can use, too.

God saved me. ✅

God shows His love for me. ✅

God fulfilled His promise to sacrifice His Son for me. ✅

God sent the promised Holy Spirit to lead me. ✅

God desires a relationship with me. ✅

What can you add to this checklist that shows more promises that God has fulfilled in your life? As I said at the beginning, the Bible is full of His promises, and so are our lives.

A Promise of Rest

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

www.bible.com/1171/mat.11.28.mev

We were never meant to carry the heavy burdens that life seems to heap on us daily. Jesus wants us to daily give Him our burdens and then to just rest. I confess that in this season of having a democratic socialist elected as President of our nation, the burden has been heavy. I have a whole page of “what ifs,” a list of my low expectations for this new President. Nevertheless, as someone once told me, “Nothing is going to happen today that God and I cannot handle together.” So, each day, I lay my burdens (worries) at the feet of the Lord and then go about my day, secure in the knowledge that He is with me. Thus, I am learning to feel the peace of God all day long. When I go to the physical therapist and he tells me that I will have to wear my stability boot at least a couple of more weeks, I feel peace. When I get home and the gutter is falling off the house, I point it out to my husband who says that he knows but he has to drill new holes, My first thoughts are that, like the new steps that we need, it will just not get done. But when I pause, God’s peace comes to me and I just let the whole thing rest with Him. You see, men break promises all the time. But God doesn’t. And when He promises rest, then we can and will receive it if we truly give Him the burdens. I pray that each of you will feel God’s presence today and know His rest, the rest that comes from trusting Him to take care of the big things and the small things in your life since He cares about all of the little details. Bless you, my friends, with a good day, a good weekend and a close relationship with the One who makes all things possible, even His rest always.