A storehouse of promises

 

How does this verse of Scripture emphasize the fact that you and I were created in response to God’s plan, not as an afterthought or as an accident?

Psalm 8:3-5 “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”

The awesome truth is that more than we want to know His plan for our life, He wants us to know it and stands ready to guide us to and through that plan. The more time we spend with the Holy Spirit, and the more we choose to obey His plan, the clearer that plan grows. God always reveals His plan to an obedient heart. Just as like many occasions we leave Him out of our plans, and go our own foolish way.  Still, He waits. When the results are disastrous and we have made a mess of it all, He stands ready to begin again. We could save ourselves a lot of pain and futility if we simply read and follow the right set of directions.

The faster our world moves, the less patience we have. When we want something, we want it now. When presented with two equal choices, we make our selection based on availability. Unfortunately, we struggle to realize this and often forget about the way He has operated in our lives in the past. God is not slow as much as He is patient. He is waiting for us to arrive at just the right place to receive His blessings. Our patience in waiting upon Him demonstrates our love and trust that He knows exactly what He is doing.

Jesus understands precisely how we feel because He went through the same types of situations we do. Though details of our lives may not match His, the experiences and feelings are alike. Let's look at several examples of how He identifies with us:

Misunderstanding: People constantly misunderstood His claims to be the Son of God.

Rejection: He was unappreciated by the ones He came to love and die for.

Pressure: Crowds surrounded Him, begging for help and demanding His attention.

Exhaustion: He experienced all the weakness of humanity.

Loneliness: At Gethsemane, when He needed human companionship the most, His closest friends fell asleep.

Temptation: Satan hit Him with every imaginable type of attack and temptation.

Hatred: Religious leaders despised Him.

Injustice: Though Jesus lived a sinless life, He died a criminal’s death.

Pain: He suffered the excruciating pain of scourging and crucifixion.

In our hearts, the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to completion is still taking place. Once we submit our lives to Jesus, the process begins and does not end until we get to heaven. Yet, we are not called to finish Jesus’ work because His work is done. We are called merely to allow the Holy Spirit to complete His work in us as we share with others the Good News through both our words and actions.

It is not up to us to finish the work that only God can do in our lives. We cannot live a holy life without Him. His gift of salvation can only be received through faith in His Son. Strive as we may, eventually we will stumble. But God has promised to do what we cannot do for ourselves. He has sent His Son to save us.

While the world may have changed, God's Word hasn't. The world and the people around us change every day. Just as Christ foretold, we are hearing about wars and rumors of wars; but we do not need to be afraid.

No one can stand in the way of God. His divine kingdom is unique because it will never be conquered or divided. Embrace this promise and trust in the One making the promise. He is our refuge and strength. We are secure in Him and will not be moved. I enjoyed reading today's Devotion "A Storehouse of Promises" by Charles R. Swindoll. I thought of sharing it with you.

God made the promise . . .

saying, "I will surely bless you and

I will surely multiply you."

Hebrews 6:13–14

God's Book is a veritable storehouse of promises—over seven thousand of them.

Not empty hopes and dreams, not just nice-sounding, eloquently worded thoughts that make you feel warm all over, but promises.

Verbal guarantees in writing, signed by the Creator Himself, in which He declares He will do or will refrain from doing specific things.

In a world of liars, cheats, deceivers, and con artists, isn't it a relief to know there is Someone you can trust? If He said it, you can count on it.

Unlike the rhetoric of politicians who promise anybody anything they want to hear to get elected, what God says, God does.

Blessings,

Raj Kosaraju