I decided a couple of days ago that I wanted to circle the promises of God, starting with the book of Genesis. This morning, I was reading my Bible, and as I turned the page, I noticed the following page’s corner flap was folded down. As I unfolded the flap, I noticed this wasn’t just any flap….normally when you unfold a page from a book, it’s proportional to the other pages. But this page wasn’t. It was larger & disproportional to the others. Interesting, right?
Boy was I in for a treat when the words that had been covered by the flap were revealed on the page:
“….Is anything to hard for the LORD? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:14
The context of this passage is that the Lord promises Sarah that she will give birth to a son. Having a baby is a miracle in itself, but in Sarah’s case this will be the miracle of all miracles because she is 90 years old! So in this particular verse, God is calling out Sarah for laughing silently to herself & doubting that God can do what He says he’s going to do.
How many times do we doubt that God is going to interdecde for us? Instead of relying on Him, and moving in His strength, we attempt to move in our own strength. We take pride in being self sufficient. But when things take a turn for the worst, we play the blame game and become upset with God because He didn’t “come through.”
We would be wise to remind ourselves that God is the author of of peace, not confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and that if we submit to His authority, He will save us from a lot of sleepless nights, heartbreak, and behaviors that are dentermental to our well-being.
As I let His word sink in, I couldn’t help but smile because I know that I serve a mighty God who is working on my behalf even when I can’t see him cheering me on from the sidelines as I’m duking it out on the battlefield of life. I may be fighting the worry and anxiety of not knowing where I will be attending nursing school next spring, and fighting the desire of wanting to meet my future husband already, but He slays all of those worries with a simple & humble prayer of my heart “God, please remind me that Your plans for my life far exceed the expectations I’ve planted in my heart. Nothing is too hard for you!”
So friends, if you’re feeling down on your luck, remember you’re not down on grace!!!
You may have recently been fired from your job; have a family member who is gravely ill….maybe you are the one who is sick; or maybe are going through a bad breakup…whatever your current situation, don’t look through the lens of fear, regret, or anxiety. Look through the lens of faith! God has not abandoned you! He will never leave you! I know right now things make look pretty dismal, but He will intervene and pull you out of your storm into a season of peace.
Trust in God’s perfect timing and keep praying bold prayers. Bold prayers activate the power of God! That’s what I’m fully committed to doing. In fact, right by the verse I shared tonight, I circled the promise God made to me. I put “Nov-March,” in reference to when I will receive the acceptance letters to my top choices for nursing schools. ;) I then put “TBA” for when I will meet my sweetheart, and future husband. I then signed the date, so that when all of these promises come true, I can write down the date they came true next to today’s date. Nothing is sweeter and more encouraging than to be able to open up my Bible, and look back on God’s promises to me. :)
