By Mark Maher
We cling to His promises. There are 7,487 promises that God has given to man according to some sources. Hebrews 4:12 states that “God’s Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Here’s one of many promises of God.
“BUT NOW thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)
This is God‘s promise to us that He’s got us. If we look back over our life, we’ll see the hand of God has been all over our life. We hold tight to the promises of God. We trust Him and His Word. We don’t understand “why” and there’s not a lot of explanation for the valleys and suffering of this world, but the promise is that He’s with us, and eternal life is His primary promise.
“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is RIGHT ALONGSIDE HELPING US along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He KNOWS US far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (Romans 8:26-28 MSG)
Your place is secure. You are His. He knows you by name. He has created you. He created you for purpose and on purpose. He is with you always, as this is His promise. The phrase “I will never leave you nor forsake you” is a promise found in Hebrews 13:5, “No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.” (John 14:18) We cling to this hope.
These verses become part of our heart and our soul. They give us strength to move forward. They give us hope and encouragement.
“Fear not” because God has got you. Life brings us many worries that we have to overcome and walk through, yet God tells us to have no fear. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
He promises that He has redeemed you. God knows you and He’s chosen you. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Have you seen Christ’s redemptive power in your life? Do you believe that He restores you every day. Do you let the spirit lead as our fleshly eyes will want to see it before we believe it. But the Bible promises that one day you and I “will understand what we cannot comprehend today.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
He has taught me to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) and despite what we go through He has given new hope. The Bible promises that we will sprout again. “For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again.” (Job 14:7)
Are you open to God revising and rewriting your story? The main priority is simply to keep walking in His ways until He takes us home. “Though he slayed me, I still trust him.” (Job 13:15) The primary goal is to bring people to Christ, and to find eternal life, which to be honest, isn’t that far away.
“Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.” (1 John 2:6) Do we choose to follow God despite what we go through. What if you had nothing and God didn’t give you anything you had expected, could you still trust God? Do you believe that a breakthrough is always on the horizon?
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) Choosing to follow the purpose of God and will not follow the patterns of this world. “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
I believe the Bible comes alive when you go through tough times. These promises are like a lifeline for those going through the storms. They become an anchor for your soul.
