Cling to God’s Promises
What do you think about?
The thoughts you fill your mind with are crucial because what you cling to influences your worldview.
If you choose to dwell on God’s promises, you start to recognize God’s blessings during uncertain times. Trusting that God will redeem your present pain equips you to walk forward in faith and keep on fighting.
Isaiah 12:2 reminds us that we belong to a God who is faithful to keep His promises. This God rescues us and fights for us. So when we belong to God, we have nothing to fear—all we need to do is cling to God and wait on Him to act.
So as you walk forward today, reflect on some of God’s promises, and let them transform the way you think:
God will sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)
God’s peace will guard your heart. (Philippians 4:7)
God delights over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
God will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. (Psalm 32:8)
God is your refuge and strength, your help in times of need. (Psalm 46:1)
In all things, you are more than a conqueror because God loves you. (Romans 8:37)
God will never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
God’s perfect love casts out all your fear. (1 John 4:18)
Nothing can separate you from God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39)
God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. God’s not done with you. (Philippians 1:6)
Tag: God
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Cling to God’s Promises
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Pause
Pause in His presence.
These words really impacted me this morning as I’m reading Psalm 44, right between v8 and v9 in The Passion Translation, “Pause in His Presence”, and I did!
Time stopped for a few minutes. I just stared and the words and took the time to pause and really feel His presence. It’s quiet here in the basement as I sip coffee and read devotions and scripture. Always a special time of the day and sometimes an extra special moment with God.
His is always present but sometimes I really just need to pause to make it more of a reality in my life.
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Me and CAR-T
As some readers will know I’m about to get CAR-T therapy for the lymphoma cancer. In short, this involved extracting some of my T-cells, genetically modifying them into CAR-T cells, growing more of these special cells and infusing the new CAR-T cells back into my body.
Yeah, that’s right I’ll be genetically re-engineered and there is no turning back. Once they are in my body they will replicate and become “the new normal” a “living medicine”.
How do I feel about that? Well, at this point it’s the only currently available shot at a cure so I’m doing it. Unlike other treatments like chemotherapy the drugs do their work and leave your system hopefully without any lasting negative side effects. This is different. The new cells will be a part of me, a “living” medication that will hunt down and destroy the lymphoma cancer cells. I was feeling a little so so about all this, until this morning.
My day starts out with devotions using the youversion app. The first thing I read every day is “The Story” which is an introduction, the verse of the day, a video of someone explaining the verse of the day, and a prayer. Today’s verse was Isaiah 43:19 and it was explained by Levi Lusko.
Right at the end of the explanation Levi says “… your (my) good God is seeking to do something new inside of you (me)”.
Do something new inside of me?!?! Something like new T-cells? Like CAR-T cells? It just struck me hard in a very literal sense. I made a note of the thought in my journal and moved on to the next devotion.
I really should not have been reading this next devotion today. I’d gotten behind and I should have read it yesterday. But, here I am reading this.
“then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 4:7 TPT
https://www.bible.com/1849/php.4.7.tptThere are coincidences and then there are God arranged circumstances. To me this was a God thing. These two insights, back to back, it was like God speaking to me. God is making a path in the wilderness, a river in the desert, a way where there seems to be no way for me to receive this treatment and He is doing something new inside of me, literally and making the answers known to me.
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:19 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/isa.43.19.nltThe result? I’m at peace with the treatment that is coming up in a few weeks. God is it it, He is with me, He is a good God.
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God is Good
I’ve heard and read a lot of God’s attributes and characteristics like God is love, merciful, a refuge, a strong tower, great, glorious, faithful and many many more things. I’m sure you’ve heard many of these things too. But what if you were to narrow it down to just one word? God is…?
Just recently I finished reading The Rational Bible – Exodus by Dennis Prager which I found to be a very enjoyable and enlightening commentary on this section of the bible. There are many explanations and essays on virtually every verse and generally very thought provoking, a worth while read.
While much of the book was quite profound and revelatory one particular essay stood out to me in a special way. “Is God Good or is God Love?
At this point I’m going to excerpt the book a fair bit but I’d recommend reading the entire thing.
The essay comes from Exodus 33:18 where Mosses is on the mountain with God and
Ex 33:18 “He said, “O, let me behold Your Presence!”
Even with all the intimate interactions he’s had with God since the burning bush, Moses yearns to better know God.
Ex 33:19 And He answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you,”
When Moses asks God to allow him to behold God’s presence – to reveal His essence – what is it that God reveals?
His goodness.
God’s essence is goodness.
Many people say, “God is love.” However, while goodness and love are often related, they can be very different from one another.
Dennis Prager
Good people, by definition, do good – whether or not they happen to have loving feelings.
Dennis Prager
There is quite a bit more to the essay expounding on these thoughts and citing example of why we can believe God is good. Excellent stuff. Now when I hear that phrase “God is good all the time and all the time God is good” I have a much better understanding of that fact.
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Hope
Our hope is in a Person, not in an event.
So though we might experience disappointment and setbacks, our hope is not defined by that, but by the word of God. Hope can be a quiet confidence, while we are waiting, while we take one step after another.
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Psalms 130:5 NIV
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/psa.130.5.niv
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YouVersion, The Bible App: End of the Year 2018
Well, 2018 is not quite over but they have produced some stats for the year.
I’m feeling pretty good about mine….
…. and what’s happening around the world is amazing!
YouVersion, The Bible App: End of the Year 2018
— Read on share.bible.com/2018/
