All the Promises
2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
We love to discuss God's Promises. And it's crucial that we understand the things that God has promised. Without knowing, for example, that God has a plan for our lives, that all things that happen to us work out for our good, that Jesus is returning for us, or that God is with us in the valley of the shadow of death, life becomes dark and lonely. But as his children we sometimes have selective hearing.
As a dad I sometimes find myself repeating myself (yes, the pun is intended; yes, I know it's a bad pun--deal with it). Parents reading this understand that the words, "Come here," are never uttered only once. It's always something like, "Come here. Come here! COME HERE! COME HERE!!!!", before the child responds. And that response is usually, "Huh?" with a dumbfounded look on his or her face, wondering why there is anger in your voice. But the words "ice cream" could be whispered in the middle of hurricane force winds, and all the children in the house would come running to where you are, their little faces beaming with so much love and adoration in anticipation of receiving a treat. The difference? It's the desire of their hearts that keep them listening for something they want to hear and not necessarily for just the sound of your voice.
We're no different when it comes to hearing our heavenly Father. It's easy to get on board with what he says when we hear, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4 ESV) or "...ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you," (John 15:7b ESV), but it's not as easy to get behind, "...In the world you will have tribulation...” (John 16:33 ESV) or, "Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you..." (John 15:20a ESV). We have used our "selective spiritual hearing" to develop a distorted understanding of God's word to us. We have forgotten that there is no promise for us to have a life with zero difficulties. And because we have this misunderstanding we may judge others going through tough times or begin to wonder what's wrong with us when things don't go smoothly for ourselves--we didn't get the job we wanted or we are struggling with sickness or limited resources. Sometimes we may even get mad and bitter with God when we feel that our troubles are undeserved. "Why me, Lord? I don't deserve this." Sound familiar?
Let me be clear. I am not encouraging us to desire difficulties or to unquestioningly accept difficulties without a fight. God blessed the nation of Israel with "a land flowing with milk and honey". Jesus had Peter go fishing to pay his taxes. Healing and miracles are a part of God's kingdom, and we should pursue the miraculous. And I would not go out of my way to find a place where I might suffer or even have to die for standing up publicly for Jesus. But there are many of our brothers and sisters suffering around us. Some are even suffering death at the hands of persecutors right now around the world. And one day we may be going through similar sufferings in places where we have been relatively insulated from the persecutions of this world towards believers.
The reality is that difficulties are a part of life, and it is because of these difficulties we need to have God move in our lives--there is no deliverance without bondange, no healing without sickness, no provision without lack. God's promises are written down for us, not to use them as some kind of hocus-pocus, magic words to avoid trouble, but so that we will have the strength to face our future with the knowledge that we have a good Father who promises to take care of us and who will not abandon us. His words give us comfort, instruct us on what to do in response, and sometimes they let us know that his "grace is sufficient". The scripture says that in response to his promises we "utter our Amen"; "amen" means "so be it"--in other words we are in agreement with what God is doing.
Because of his words to us, we know that everything that happens to us is for our good and that we should never give up. We can persevere because he "has overcome the world".
God bless us all with his wisdom and love.
eddie