God's Promises

I will never leave you, nor forsake you.  Heb.13:5

God is so amazing.  He knows what we need, even when we don’t.  Little things or big things, it doesn’t matter, He knows.  And it doesn’t stop there.  He loves each of us so much that He will surprise you with something that will lift your heart and help understand Him better, and I think He loves to do it when you aren’t expecting it.

As I was reading in Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon the other day, God used it to lift my spirit and remind me of the promises He has made to me. Here is how Spurgeon put it.

“No promise is of private interpretation. Whatever God has said to any one saint, He has said to all.  When He opens a well for one, it is that all may drink.  When He opens the granary door to give out food, there may be one starving man who is the occasion of it being opened, but all hungry saints may come and feed, too.  Whether He gave the word to Abraham or to Moses does not matter, believer; He has given it to you as one of the covenanted seed.”

Isn’t that awesome?  Promised made to one of His people is a promise we can all be blessed through.  This prompted me to take a look at some of the promises in scripture.  Here are a few:

God uses rainbows to symbolize His promise to never again send a flood to destroy the earth. (Gen 9:8-17)

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  (Is 41:10)

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mt 11:28)

Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you.  (Mark 11:24)

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Gal 6:9)

The Psalms are a great place to find promises.  Two of my favorites are Psalm 1 and 23.  Here are a few more:

Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.  (Ps 37:4)  

Cast your burdens on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.  (Ps 55:22)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  (Ps 46:1)

 

When you really think about it, the bible itself is one big promise ultimately pointing us toward eternity and the promises held there for us.  As the inspired Word of God we can hold every word near to our heart and stand in complete confidence of the promises held within.  Jesus told us of the accuracy and authority of scripture and that it would all be fulfilled, every jot and tittle (Mt 5:18).

Even the attributes of God work to our advantage.  Look at the various attributes of God, each one in and of itself a blessing to us.  God promising to never leave us or forsake us is an all-encompassing promise which engages His attributes on our behalf in order that this promise be fulfilled.

Spurgeon finished with this:

“To sum it up, there is nothing you can lack, nothing you can ask for, nothing you can need in time or in eternity, nothing living, nothing dying, nothing in this world, nothing in the next world, nothing now, nothing at the Resurrection morning, nothing that is in heaven that is not contained in this text: I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

Take some time to think about the promises God has made to you, either directly or through the bible.  Lift them up in prayer and talk to Him about them.  It would be a great way to re-establish contact if you have not talked to Him in a while.   I think we all tend to forget about His promises to us when we don’t see it come into fruition in the time frame we want or expect it to.  We need to remember that His timing is perfect and He will follow through on every single promise.