WHAT HAS GOD PROMISED?

The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalms 121:7 – 8).


At first glance, one might think of this verse as a promise of ease. We want to think of God as a kindly provider—one who anticipates our needs and makes our lives easy. In some ways, this is the very nature of God. He lavishes His goodness on us. But by relegating this to a right, rather than a privilege, we miss the intent.

Our comings and goings, or comfort or discomfort, our needs or excesses are under God’s control. If he surpasses our wants, perhaps He means for us to store them up for others or for later use or perhaps He desires us to use what He has given us. Whatever His purpose, be sure He will reveal it in His good time. The lesson is not in the whether we have or we lack, but rather our assurance is that God controls the circumstance.

Blessing the Obstacles

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:29)

Why do we humans insist that we need certain things in order to fulfill God’s will in our lives? If we had more money, we cold give more. If our health were better, we could go to Indonesia and help rebuild after the Tsunami. If we didn’t have to clean the house, cook, and do laundry, we could write a novel in ten days. Whatever our perceived goal, we only see the obstacles. We miss God’s strength and power to overcome. We need to learn to praise God with the obstacles because He then will demonstrate His wonderful majesty over the elements. How can we witness the full measure of God, if we don’t have need of Him?

RENEWAL

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16)


We think that renewal means filled with newfound energy and vigor. If this is so, why do we age? Why do our bodies give out? Why do we face the new day with less strength than the old? Physically, it is true. In the physical realm, aging does mean loss. Even with our best efforts toward good nutrition and proper exercise, eventually we will die—waste away. In the spiritual realm, the process is reversed. As we mature in our relationship with God, our Spirit strengthens. Each day fills us with new energies that build upon the old and draws us closer to the God we love.