Tag: promises of God

Putting Our Total Trust in the Lord

Psalm 34:10
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

We can find great comfort in the Psalms as we discover David’s prayers that he used to silence his fears. Through his faith David often looked to the Lord in prayer. He was wonderfully revived and comforted time after time.

Be assured that God owns everything. If we seek Him, we can expect the fullness of His provisions in our lives. He does expect a little from us. He expects us to put Him first in our finances, first in our interests, first in our relationships, first in our schedule and even first in our troubles. If we do these things, we will lack no good thing.

Let us follow the good model shown to us by David. Let us not turn to the world where we will find that we will be left at a loss in times of trouble. Let us not trust in ourselves, thinking that our own efforts will be sufficient.

Let us seek God’s provision in all things. Let us look at His promises instead of focusing on our problems. Let us be persistent in our prayers until we receive what we cannot see now but hope for with the same faith as David.

Let us be positive and let God develop our potential. Let us rejoice in seeing Him provide more than we can imagine. Let us marvel as He surrounds us with people who are filled with His precious love.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing us with every good thing that we need. We praise the name of Jesus who has provided us with our greatest need – to be washed clean by His shed blood. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will teach us how to taste and see Your goodness as we learn to put our total trust in You. May Your grace be sufficient to transform us from living lives in the flesh to living lives in the spirit. We ask all these things in the name of the One who brings salvation to all people, Jesus Christ.

Moments of Eternal Value

2 Corinthians 5:7
For we walk by faith, not by sight.

From time to time, we truly experience the exhilarating feeling of God’s presence in our lives. We cannot see God, but we know that He is with us. These moments are precious. These moments are important building blocks in the foundation of our faith. These moments are glimpses of things not seen, but things that hold everlasting promise. These are the moments that will carry us through our daily duties and trials when we do not feel the presence of God with us. These moments have eternal value.

On the other hand, the special moments that we experience in the flesh are only temporary. How can we put our faith in the things of the flesh that will be here today and gone tomorrow? How can we put our faith in the calamities of life? How can we put our faith in all those things that will be stripped away at our death?

Let us be governed by the things of eternal hope and not by the appearance and lure of present things. Let us walk by faith as we look to Jesus Christ for righteousness, peace, pardon, and eternal life. Let us live in the fullness of life offered by Our Savior. Let us live in confident expectation of the things that are to come. Let us live and act based on our faith which reveals to us that all the promises of God’s Holy Word are true.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the times that You allow us to experience Your presence in our lives. We pray that You will use those moments to build our faith in You. We pray that You will use those moments to strengthen us when our burdens are heavy and we do not feel Your presence. We ask, Lord, that we will be filled with joy even when You have called us to tedious tasks. May the Holy Spirit remind us how pleasing it is to You when we are obedient to Your calling in our lives. We pray that we will be living vessels of those moments in Your presence so that the world around us may experience who You are. May the strength of our faith draw others to Your Son, Jesus. We ask all these things in the name of our eternally faithful king, Jesus Christ.

Where the Weary Find Rest and the Sorrowful Find Joy

Jeremiah 31:25
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

What a tremendous promise we have from the Lord. The promise was first spoken to draw the Jews out of bondage back to their homelands and back to Himself. Through His prophet, Jeremiah, Almighty God was assuring the Jews that they would find a rest and joy in their new settlement if they set aside their idols and returned to Him.

The promise still holds true for all of us today as the Lord encourages us with His extraordinary promise to give us the strength that we need to break away from all the bondage in our lives. The promise includes drawing us back to Himself when we have separated ourselves from Him by living in the world and taking on personal idols that we have set ahead of the Lord. The promise includes giving us the spiritual inspiration that we need to renew our devotion to Him when it is lagging.

Through His incredible promise, He calls us to live in a higher place, a place where His presence brings us complete comfort, peace and satisfaction. He calls us to a place where the weary find rest and the sorrowful find joy. There is no other place except in Jesus Christ that we can find such a promise.

Let us take our weary souls before Our Father in heaven. Let us languish there and be replenished in body, mind and spirit.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for drawing us to Yourself. We bless the name of Jesus who provides all that we need to be one with You and one with Your Son. We pray that You raise up in us the desire to bring to You the fullness of love and devotion that You seek from us. Lift us up, Lord, to a higher place – a place that we cannot reach without You. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will strengthen us to leave behind the things of the world that we place ahead of our devotion to You. We ask all these things in the name of our Most High Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bending the Truth is Abandoning the Truth

1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

When laying tile, one of the first things that is done is snapping a chalk line to establish a true 90 degree angle to the two walls. If the chalk line is one degree off it is not true. There is no tolerance for this measure. The line is either a true 90 degrees or it is not true. A mistake in setting a true line will doom the project.

The world would like to teach us that there are many ways to heaven besides accepting Jesus Christ as Savior. It is sad to say that Satan has done a remarkable job selling this line of thinking, putting a large portion of mankind in danger of missing the way, the truth and the life that is only found in Jesus.

We Christians must be extremely careful not to bend the Word of God to fit today’s culture. The Word of God is the truth. God’s Word is the same today as it was yesterday and as it will be tomorrow. Jesus Christ alone is the firm, abiding and immovable Rock of Ages. In every way, He is able to bear all the weight of the sins of mankind that has been placed upon Him. He alone can bear this load. He alone is the trustworthy foundation. Anyone who aligns their lives with anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ will find eternal doom in their future.

Making God’s Word more pleasing to others is not being tolerant. It is abandoning what is true. More importantly, massaging God’s Word to make it more acceptable to the world endangers the eternal lives of those that we may be trying to appease.

Let us stand firm on the Word of God. Let us make the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ, our foundation. Let us boldly proclaim the promises that only He can deliver.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that Your Word is true and that Your promises are certain. May You open our hearts to receive the fullness and truth in the precepts that You reveal to us through Your Holy Word. May You embolden us to speak the truth about Your Son as the world around us rejects Him. May You strengthen us to stand firmly on the foundation that only He provides. We ask all these things in the name of the way, the truth and the life, Jesus Christ.

A Greater Harvest in the Waiting

Habakkuk 2:3
For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

As we wait to see the providence of God in answers to our prayers, we must be careful not to become impatient with God. His ways are greater than our ways. His timing is perfect. He has the perfect appointment set for the resolution of our prayerful solicitations.

The prophet, Habakkuk, was frustrated that God was not dealing with the iniquities that he saw in the world around him. He was impatient because those that he prophesied to were not responding to the Word of God. In this scripture, the Lord reminds Habakkuk that he must be patient because the visions and promises that God gives are sure to come.

We probably have not had a vision like Habakkuk had. But if we have been diligent in seeking the Lord’s hand in our lives, we are likely to have found some type of confirmation of God’s providence through His Word, through urgings of His Holy Spirit or through the progress we see in our own lives or in the lives of those that we have been praying for. Let us be joyful. The things that we pray for in the will of God and in accordance with His promises will come to us. Though the fruit of our prayers may be deferred for a time, whether long or short our wait may be, the fruit will come at last. And, hallelujah, the longer wait usually means a greater harvest.

Let us pray in confidence and wait with faith for the perfect answer to our prayers. Let us rejoice for Almighty God hears and answers ever single prayer – perfectly.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your providence in our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus who has insured that the favor of Your promises will never be withheld from us. We pray, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit will teach us how to rest on Your Word and that He will strengthen us when the promise of the Word is long in coming. May we persevere to the end through the graces that You provide. We ask all these things in the name of the Alpha and the Omega, Jesus Christ.

Approaching His Throne with Confidence

Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

It is easy to read Philippians 4:6 and come away with the simple thought that God encourages us and desires for us to bring Him our prayer requests. This interpretation is absolutely true. But when we break it down, we find that God is saying much, much more to us.

First, and foremost, we are being taught to be anxious in nothing. Does that make any sense? Surely we all have daily concerns and cares that we need to attend to as good stewards of our provisions, our relationships and our own spiritual condition. God is aware of these due concerns, but He is giving us the command to trust in Him. He knows our needs better than we know our needs. He is actually calling on us to have peace and comfort when the world would suggest otherwise.

After first resting in the comfort of His promise, then we are urged to go to Him in prayer with our requests. But there is a stipulation attached as He commands that we bring our thanksgiving in advance of our requests. Why does He ask us to come with thanksgiving? Again, it is for our peace and comfort. When we bring our thanksgiving, we are reconciling with Him all the favor and blessing that He has provided in the past. This positions us to approach His Throne with the confidence that everything we ask for will be addressed and answered perfectly according to our needs, our real needs.

If we are in line with the passage to this point, then our thankful, angst free mindset will help us to meet the last command in this passage which is to let our requests be known to God – not to men. This is a not so subtle reminder that it is not our job to manipulate our circumstances through our own capability. Instead we are to depend on Our Heavenly Father for everything in our lives. In exchange for following His supplication process, peace will be our companion.

Let us go to Him in thanksgiving, adoration and trust. Let us rest in His peace as we wait for His provision.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your unconditional love and Your forgiveness through Your Son, Jesus. We ask forgiveness for coming to You so often with our needs alone, accompanied by a stark absence of our professed love for You and our expression of our sincere thanks for all that You provide. Teach us, Lord, how to seek Your presence in our lives. Teach us how to fully trust in You throughout each and every day. Teach us how to use our prayer lives to build our relationships with You. We ask all these things in the name of the One whose mercies and miracles never come to an end, Jesus Christ.

A Sense of Who Almighty God Really Is

John 16:31
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?

The apostles spent three years with Jesus. Yet when He was ready to leave them, He had to take a lengthy amount of time explaining to them who He was. When He completed His explanation, He posed a question to them, “Do you now believe?”

Are we not just like the apostles? Even though we have spent years in prayer, years in the reading of the Word, years in worship and years in serving God, we manage to lose our sense of who Almighty God really is and the certainty of all the promises that He has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Sadly, as if Jesus Christ left the earth and left us to our own wiles, we turn toward the world for answers. We somehow find ourselves overlooking that our all-sufficient Lord provided us with a Wonderful Counselor who stands ready to supply our every need.

Let us be reminded that Jesus promised that His Holy Spirit would be with us and would comfort and guide us. To believe otherwise is to have a complete lack of faith. To believe otherwise is to deny what Jesus said He came to earth to do. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Let us take courage as Jesus commands us. Let us believe fully in the promises of Jesus Christ.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort and guidance that You provide through Your Holy Spirit. We bless the name of Jesus who came to earth so that we may have peace and we may overcome the tribulations of the world. We pray, Father, that Your Holy Spirit will help us to dig deep into our relationship with You. May we dig so deep that we never again turn to the world for counsel without having gone to You first. Help us, Lord, to believe for more than we can imagine is possible through our own efforts. Teach us how to wait on You for Your good and perfect timing in all things. We ask these things in the name of the One that is with us until the end of the age, Jesus Christ.

Our Smallest Concern is Important to God

Psalm 56:11
In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

It is amazing how often we struggle with the issues of the day, wondering how our particular situation is going to get resolved. How little faith we have in Almighty God through whom all things are possible. But what may be even more amazing is how we have no faith that Almighty God is interested in the smallest needs in our lives when His Word proclaims that He knows the count of every hair on our heads. Our smallest concern is as important to Him as our greatest need.

Through the continuous and sometimes onerous trials that we have passed through in life, we should have learned to patiently wait on the Lord to take us from darkness into the light. Yet we seem to become frustrated by the small stuff and lose patience. More importantly we lose confidence in an Almighty God who cares for us so much that He bottles all of our tears and observes them with tender love and concern.

May we all come full circle just as David, the Psalmist, did. May we be in constant recognition of the fact that the Lord is our helper. May we move forward fearing no man, for man has no power but what God has given him. Through our trials, may we all praise God knowing that He is faithful to meet our every need.

Let us make David’s affirmation of Almighty God’s power the foundation for our daily resolve. Let us rejoice and trust in Him to be who He says He is in all things big and small.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your faithful promises to meet our every need. We praise You for giving us sufficient grace to get through every trial. We pray, Lord, that You will grant us the faith to trust in You for everything in our lives. We ask that Your Holy Spirit teach us to come to You boldly with what seems impossible and also come to You confidently with the smallest things that are troubling us. May Your grace and power in our lives never be diminished because of our lack of understanding. We ask all these things in the name of the Son seated at the right hand of power, Jesus Christ.

The Power of His Word

Luke 5:5
And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

It is important to realize that there is power for us in the Word of God. The power that we can access is held in the promises that are revealed to us in the Holy Bible. The promises are the keys to our victory over all the forces of this earth and all the forces of evil that might try to come against us. No matter what we think the promises of this world hold in store for us, the Word of God promises exceedingly more.

Peter exhibited faith in the spoken words of His Master, Jesus. Even though his instincts told him that it was highly questionable to expect a worthwhile catch, he dropped his nets. He had faith that Jesus’ words were more powerful than the forces of nature that he knew were unlikely to deliver a decent catch at this place and time of day. His faith was rewarded. His nets were filled beyond the point of bursting.

Whether we are toiling in a ministry that is not fruitful, laboring in a vocation that is not productive or simply struggling with the issues of life, we should look toward the promises in God’s Holy Word and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our victory is guaranteed and is waiting upon us if we have faith in the Lord.

Let us dig into the Holy Word of God and find those scriptures that best fit our time of need. If we are diligent in our search, we will find the promises that will provide the power that we will need to overcome what the world has laid upon us. Let us rejoice in knowing that His Word is more powerful than anything that the evil one or this world can bring against us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for giving us Your Holy Word to teach us the things that we are promised as inheritors of Your kingdom. We pray that the Holy Spirit shows us how to live our lives in accordance with Your Word and in reliance upon Your promises. We ask that the Holy Spirit strengthen us to stand against everything that comes against us, knowing that through Our Savior we have victory over every circumstance. We ask all these things in the name of the One who gave us victory over all things when He died on the Cross, Jesus Christ.

Doubting Our Provider

Matthew 6:30
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you–you of little faith?

Gorgeous are the wild flowers that fill our fields in the spring and the summer. They pop up everywhere without a hint of human intervention. They are here with us for only a brief time before succumbing to the seasons. Yet year after year, God raises them up and displays them spectacularly as just one tiny example of His loving providence. How is it possible that we doubt the provision and protection of Our Father in heaven when He is so loyal to even the small plants with their limited life cycles? Do we not have enough faith to see how much more He would provide for His children who He holds so dear as to grant them eternal life?

We have allowed the cares of the world to come in and diminish our faith in the promises of Almighty God. We have followed the world’s lead and put our faith in our own independence instead of in the hands of Our Creator. We have tried to satisfy ourselves in all the things of the world instead of the perfect provision of Our Loving Father in heaven. In the process, we have complicated our lives to the point that we cannot be satisfied.

Let us seek the simplicity and satisfaction of the promised provision that is ours to claim from the One who never breaks His promises. Let us trust that His planned provision for us is more than sufficient and is far more satisfying than anything that the world has to offer.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing for our every need. We rejoice in knowing that all the treasures of Your kingdom are ours through the eternal inheritance secured for us by Your Son, Jesus. We pray, Father, that you will help us break our worldly appetites that are impossible to satisfy. Strengthen us, O Lord, that we may bear up to our daily troubles, stand up against our temptations and allow none of these things to move us away from You. Help us to seek You, Father God. We pray all these things in the name of our endless fount of provision, Jesus Christ.