Have you experienced pain, grief, or a challenge so intense you wondered, “How am I going to get through this?” Have you ever gone through a trial so difficult and painful that you began to question your faithfulness to the Lord? Or have you ever committed a sin so grievous that you thought God couldn’t or wouldn’t forgive?
Any number of life situations can lead one to question whether God is able to deliver, or if He hears our cries. Perhaps that is when we need to reflect on some amazing things that happened to His people:
• God gave Abraham and Sarah a child when he was 100 years old and she was 90 (Genesis 18:10-11). He keeps his promises.
• Christ parted the mighty Red Sea and led the Israelites to safety (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). He liberates.
• Our Creator gave His children bread from the sky, water from a rock, and sandals that never wore out (Exodus 15:16, 17, Deuteronomy 29:5). He provides.
• The Lord brought down the mighty walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:20). He conquers.
• God brought Jonah out of the belly of a great fish (Jonah 2:10). He delivers.
• God forgave David after he committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 12:13). He pardons.
• Jesus fed five thousand men, not counting women and children, with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:19-21). Later, he did it a second time. He cares.
• When His disciples were afraid they were perishing, Jesus told the raging wind and water, “Be still!” and the elements obeyed Him (Mark 4:39). He rescues.
• Jesus came when Lazarus died, and even when He knew He was going to raise him from the dead, He wept with Martha and Mary (John 11:34-35). He feels.
God is all-knowing and ever-present. He is always with us (Matthew 28:19-20). He can deliver us from pain, sorrow, or fierce challenges. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist, but will provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). With unspeakable love he sacrificed his Son, thereby providing forgiveness when we sin. He deserves our trust. Our God is able. Amen! Amen!
Today’s Verse: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31b-32).
–Teresa Hampton
Teresa,
I love your trusting heart. I fully believe we must let go of our own wills and let God do what is best for us. I recently had a rather traumatic experience getting from Stephenville, Texas, using the backroads at first and then traveling through the maze of spaghetti highways to DFW using only a Garman or iPhone director. When I arrived, I thought how much like following God’s direction for our lives that was. I literally could not make any decisions on my own. I had to follow the voice.
The world has a new motto: “What he has done for others, he will do for you.” The problem with this motto is that it is never found in scripture.
What we must acknowledge is that God has performed some great miracles as a witness to his spokesmen (prophets and apostles). This is his exact point in Hebrews 2:3-4 – God bore witness to the apostles and prophets so we would believe his words that proceeded from their mouths. Did he do that for all men, or only for those he used to write his scriptures? God bore witness to Jesus in signs and wonders that had never been imagined before so that we would believe in him (Heb. 2:3-4). He did the same things for the apostles who wrote Jesus’ words in Scripture so that we would believe his words (Heb. 2:3-4). Does he continue to bear witness to men today?
God tested Abraham’s marvelous faith so he could make Abraham the father of the faithful (Rom. 4:16-24). Does he do this for everyone?
God gave his witness to Moses in many signs and wonders so that the world would know that Moses was his prophet (Deut. 11:1-8). Does he do this for everyone?
Will God make the sun stand still for me, or give me manna from heaven, or deliver me from a great fish, or bring down the walls of a city for me, raise me from the dead, etc. and etc.? God did these things to bear witness to the prophets and apostles, not for all men.
Yes, he makes many great and precious promises, but they are part of a covenant (Heb. 8:8-10). What did God not fulfill when Israel did not keep their part of the covenant? When did Abraham inherit the promises according to Hebrews 6:15? He only inherited when he had fulfilled his part of the covenant.
When we make promises for God outside of the context of where he placed his promises, are we speaking the truth? “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Pro. 30:6).
Jesus promised to be with his people always, till the end of the world, but did Jesus’ promise extend to Jezebel and to those in Sardis and Laodicea who were unfaithful to his covenant (Rev. 3:1, 17)? God’s promises are to the faithful like Abraham (Gal 3:9), Moses (Heb. 3:5), David (1 Kings 11:5), and even Christ (Heb. 3:1-2), who obeyed his commandments. If we are to inherit the promises, we must be followers of those who faith and patience kept their part of the covenant (Heb. 6:12).