Promises From God

I love that God makes promises. I love that He knows our innermost heart, sees our hidden places  and then speaks to us of things to come; such as healing (i.e. wounded places) or victory (i.e. shameful or dark places).

If you search the bible you can find numerous promises from God.  Probably my favorite is the promise of eternal life through resurrection..I think that one's fairly obvious.  But my mind, for the last few days, has been on His personal promises to me.  Things He has spoken to me about over many years, but also promises He made when I didn't know Him & couldn't hear Him.  These are the things that show me how personal He is, that He has a watchful eye on me, offering me opportunities to stay in His perfect will.  His promises are meant to come true and He gives us every opportunity to assist in making that happen.

If you think you have never received a personal promise from God, I would have to tell you that you are wrong.  I would have to say that you have not worked to open your ears to hear His voice.  I would have to say that you have either not been taught how to enter into a personal relationship or you have decided you do not want one, either out of fear or loathing.  Then I would have to say that you are missing out on the most important thing you could ever pursue while here on this earth for your lifetime.

It is God's promises to me that, sometimes, keep me putting one foot in  front of the other; that give me hope and the strength to move on to the next obstacle that seemingly looms before me.  Thankfully, I have seen enough of His promises come true in my life that sometimes it is getting easier to step into the next challenge.  Honestly, I don't always dive right in.  Sometimes it just seems too big for me, too emotional, too painful. But eventually I take a deep breath, grab hold of His extended hand...and He leads me in. He leads me in!  I have never had to go into any painful or dark places without Him!  

I mean, that still blows my mind!  He always walks in front of me...and where am I?...usually cowering behind Him. He is my shield.  Then as we walk deeper, His confidence in me begins to seep into my soul, I become stronger & more secure; I begin to walk in the promise He gave me, that I am who He says I am. Before I know it I am walking beside Him, into battle, facing my fear or darkness; we are arm-in-arm together, beating back the enemy, shining and victorious!  Once I believe that I am who He says I am, I am victorious, confidence overcomes me!  I can see the ultimate victory waiting for me; I see the light at the end of the tunnel and nothing will stand in my way.

Having dealt with various forms of abuse in my childhood and into adulthood, I had some definite fears for my kids when I began a family.  The main one was sexual abuse.  I didn't want my kids to ever know that feeling of not being in control of what was happening to you, of experiencing that form of death in their spirit.  I began praying against sexual abuse over my kids starting with my first child.  Early on I felt God's promise to me on this issue.  It wasn't until many years later that I would see His promise laid out before my very eyes.

When my daughter, Eden, was three she was with her brothers visiting a neighborhood friend (we will call her Rachel), my kids played there often.  I had another neighbor over for a visit, we were drinking tea and I was baking cookies while we were chatting.  About halfway into our visit my phone rang and it was Rachel.  She said, "I can't find Eden.  I've looked all over the house and outside, too."  The panic in her voice told me more than her words.  I gave Rachel a description of what Eden was wearing and told her to call the police and that I was on my way.

It is only about a 3 minute drive to Rachel's house.  I had begun praying as soon as I got in the car and about 1/4 of the way there God reminded me of His promise to me.  It is so hard to explain what happened next.  Instantly I was filled with joy and I began to laugh out loud and to speak out God's promises to me regarding my children, and thanking Him for those promises.  I spoke out that I knew He would help us find Eden, that she would be returned to us safe & unharmed.  I was singing, of all things!  Sounds crazy, I know, but I had a promise and God doesn't lie.

I knew in my heart and spirit that I had victory, but we still needed Eden to come home and my dear friend Rachel didn't have my confidence.  The whole event from beginning to end, when the police pulled up with Eden in the car, was only a little over an hour, but Rachel broke down when she saw Eden being lifted from the police car and it was a long time healing for her. I felt like I was floating through the whole thing really.  I'm sure it was God keeping me from being over-anxious, helping me keep my head together.  Later though, while getting ready for bed and after I'd tucked Eden in, it all hit home, but I had the reality of a promise made and kept.  The reality of a God who knows the innermost places of our heart and knows how to keep a promise.

There is not one of us in this world who doesn't have a serious issue we are facing right now or will in the future.  We are warned that things will happen, that the enemy will come against us.  The problem is that if we are not before God and we are solely relying on our own strength & understanding to get us through these times, we will wear ourselves out. We do not have the stamina within ourselves to handle all that the enemy has planned, and believe me, he will stop at nothing to destroy us.  That is his only desire, to wound us into self destruction, to bind us to fear, anger & hatred; these are the things that destroy who we were created to be; these are the things that will separate us from God.  There is good & bad in everything around us, for every positive there is a negative, and so it is in the spirit...Good and evil. 

I encourage you to pursue God's promises for your life, for the lives of the people you love.  I encourage you to begin to build a foundation that is rock solid, impenetrable, immovable...and He is waiting for you.