God's Promise
Assurance
GOD WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS
The power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports those who do right. The Lord watches over the lives of the innocent, and their reward will last forever. They will not be ashamed when trouble comes. They will be full in times of hunger. (Psalms37:17-19)
All that the Father has is mine. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy will be the fullest possible joy. (John 16:15, 23-24)
My God will use his wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need. (Philippians 4:19)
God's faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of his children. He is faithful even when we aren't. When we lack courage, he doesn't. He has made a history out of using people in spite of people.
Need and example? The feeding of the five thousand. It's the only miracle, aside from those of the final week, recorded in all four Gospels. Why did all four writers think it was worth repeating? Perhaps they wanted to show how God doesn't give up even when his people do.
When the disciples didn't pray, Jesus prayed. When the disciples didn't see God, Jesus sought God. When the disciples were weak, Jesus was strong. When the disciples had no faith, Jesus had faith.
God is greater than our weaknesses. In our weakness it is revealed how great God is.
٭ as you stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee; will you still the storms that rage within my heart? Will you calm the whirling winds of fear and hurt that threatens my faith?
GOD WANTS YOU TO BELONG TO HIM
My whole being, praise the Lord and do not forget all his kindnesses. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He saves my life from the grave and loads me with love and mercy. (Psalms103:2-4)
The Lord your God is with you; the mighty One will save you. He will rejoice over you. You will rest in his love; he will sing and be joyful about you. (Zephaniah 3:17)
The important thing is obeying God's commands. You all were bought at a great price, so do not become slaves of people. (I Corinthians 7:19, 23)
For all its peculiarities and unevenness, the Bible has a simple story. God made man. Man rejected God. God won't give up until he wins him back.
God will whisper. He will shout. He will touch and tug. He will take away our burdens; he'll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and him, he will take all but one. But he will leave the final one for us. The choice is yours.
Please understand. His goal is not to make you happy. His goal is to make you his. His goal is not to get you what you want; it is to get you what you need.
٭ thank you Father for being both kind and stern; Tender and tough; faithfully firm; patiently urgent. I gladly choose to swap earthly discomfort for heavenly peace.
GOD'S LOVE IS CONSTANT
God, you are my God. I search for you. I thirst for you like someone in a dry, empty land where there is no water. Because your love is better than life I will praise you. (Psalms 63:1, 3)
Lord, you are kind and forgiving and have great love for those who call to you. (Psalms 86:5)
Where God's love is, there is no fear, because God's perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears. We love because God first loved us. (I John 4:18-19)
A lot of us live with a hidden fear that God is angry at us. Somewhere, sometime, something convinced us that God has a whip behind his back, a paddle in his back pocket, and he's going to nail us when we've gone too far.
No concept could be more wrong! God is very fond of us and only wants to share his love with us.
We have a Father who is filled with compassion, a feeling Father who hurts when his children hurt. We serve a God who says that even when we're under pressure and feel like nothing is going to go right, he is waiting for us, to embrace us whether we succeed or fail.
He doesn't come quarreling and wrangling and forcing his way into anyone's heart. He comes into our hearts like a gentle lamb, not a roaring lion.
٭ I thank you for your constant love, Father. Your love is not based on feeling or perfection but on your covenant with your people. Nothing can separate me from your love.
GOD ENABLES YOU TO LIVE VICTORIOUSLY
Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep he tends. Psalms100:3 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. (Psalms29:11)
Live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, grabbing hold of the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life when you confessed the good confession before many witnesses. (I Timothy 6:11-12)
This is the victory that conquers the world - our faith, so the one who wins against the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (I John 5:4-5)
You get impatient with your own life, trying to master a habit or control a sin - and in your frustration begin to wonder where the power of God is. Be patient. God is using today's difficulties to strengthen you for tomorrow. He is equipping you. The God who makes things grow will help you bear fruit.
Dwell on the fact that God lives within you. Think about the power that gives you life. The realization that God is dwelling within you may change the places you want to go and the things you want to do today.
Do what is right, whatever comes down the path, whatever problems and dilemmas you face - just do what's right. Maybe no one else is doing what's right, but you do what's right. You be honest. You take a stand. You be true. After all, regardless of what you do, God does what is right: he saves you with his grace.
٭ Father I long to be a victorious disciple. Help me as I seek to have a clear head and a pure heart. May your Word and your power bring victory to my life.
GOD IS IN CONTROL
The Lord is my light and the one who saves me. I fear no one. The Lord protects my life; I am afraid of no one. (Psalms27:1)
I am the Lord, the God of every person on the earth. Nothing is impossible for me. (Jeremiah 32:27)
The mountains may disappear, and the hills may come to an end, but my love will never disappear; my promise of peace will not come to an end. (Isaiah 54:10)
We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it's not over until He says so. We need to hear that life's mishaps and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight.
When a train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.
Next time you're disappointed, don't panic. Don't jump out. Don't give up. Just be patient and let God remind you he's still in control. It isn’t over till it's over.
٭ Father, when I hurt, you hurt with me. When no one listens to me, you listen. You wipe away my tears of frustration with your strong hand. And nothing that happens to me surprises you.
GOD EXALTS HUMILITY
Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great. (Mathew 23:12)
Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love. You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way. (Ephesians 4:2)
God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
Then (Jesus) said, "I tell you the truth, you must change and become like little children. Otherwise, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Then greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child. (Matthew 18:3-4)
I am frightened by our ability in America to convince ourselves that we don't need Jesus. We can amass fortunes, we can get degrees, and we can own our house all on our own. And yet, there's a certain affluence that we can attain when we become poverty-stricken-a certain humility that comes with trials, that brings us face to face with the Savior.
Revealing our feelings is the beginning of healing. Articulating what's on our heart, confessing our mistakes is the first step in seeing that God can forgive those mistakes and all others.
God exalts humility. When God works in our lives, helping us to become humble, he gives us a permanent joy: humility gives us a joy that cannot be taken away.
٭ Holy Father, you did not have to save me. You didn't have to touch us. Who would have blamed you for turning your back on the mess we've made out of this world? But when you saw my pain, you came. Thank you.
GOD BLESSES CONTENTMENT
Wait and trust the Lord. Don't be upset when others get rich or when someone else's plans succeed. Don't get angry. Don't be upset; it only leads to trouble. (Psalms37:7-8)
The most powerful life is the simplest life. The most powerful life is the life that knows where it's going that knows where the source of strength is, and the life that stays free of clutter and happenstance and hurriedness.
Being busy is not a sin. Jesus was busy. Paul was busy. Peter was busy. Nothing of significance is achieved without effort and hard work and weariness. Being busy, in and of itself, is not a sin. But being busy in and endless pursuit of things that leave us empty and hollow and broken inside-that cannot be pleasing to God.
One source of man's weariness is the pursuit of things that can never satisfy; but which on of us have not been caught up in that pursuit at some time in our life? Our passions, possessions, and pride-these are all dead things. When we try to get life out of dead things, the result is only weariness and dissatisfaction.
٭ Father, remind me that in the midst of my busyness, the Cross is still there. In the midst of my emptiness, the Cross is still there. With your promises, Father, I can claim peace in the midst of my hectic life.
GOD HONORS INTEGRITY
A wise person will understand what to do, but a foolish person is dishonest. Fools don't care if they sin, but honest people work at being right. (Proverbs 14:8-9)
If people please God, God will give them wisdom, knowledge, and joy. But sinners will get only the work of gathering and storing wealth that they will have to give to the ones who please God. So all their work is useless, like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)
Dear friends, you are like foreigners and strangers in this world. I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul. (I Peter 2:11)
Only the holy will see God. Holiness is a prerequisite to heaven. Perfection is a requirement for eternity. We wish it weren't so. We act like it isn't so. We act like those who are "decent" will see God. We suggest that those who try hard will see God. We act as if we're good if we never do anything too bad. And that goodness is enough to qualify us for heaven.
Sounds right to us, but it don’t sound right to God. And he sets the standard. And the standard is high. "You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).
You see, God's plan, God is the standard for perfection. We don't compare ourselves to others; they are just as fouled up as we are. The goal is to be like him; anything less is inadequate.
٭ Father, turn my work into a ministry. Let it be more than a vocation. Help me to reach out to people. Let me be a source of joy and encouragement to others who work with me.