We are not saviors of the world, but we are meant to live and grow in God’s service. Understanding God’s promises becomes our own scriptural prophecy. It is the key to fully embodying our God given potential.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:19
God has granted us His precious and great promises. 2 Peter 1:4 tells us, “By which He has granted to us His precious and great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
The first promise is that God loves us unconditionally. There is no doubt that we live in a world with conditional promises and relationships. Despite this reality, our greatest need is to be loved unconditionally. We want to be loved with a perfect, sacrificial, forever kind of love, despite our faults, by someone who knows us intimately. And we want to be supported and inspired by that love not only to become better people but also to leave lasting impressions.
God provides this love because no one else can. I believe we all have a “God shaped hole” in our hearts. Meaning that a space when we were created that only God can fill. And the love we need is strong, and unshakable. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, neither any powers, neither height nor depth , nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” That love claims us by faith.
The second promise is through it all we are never alone. When I think about God, unconditional love and what it looks like. I think about companionship. When my heart is broken, God is there, and his heart is broken too. When no one else understands, the Creator of my heart does and he sends the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to help me. When I feel left out, isolated, or rejected, I remember the wounds on Jesus‘s hands -wounds that understand my pain and loves me and how I’m whole again.
The Bible emphatically proclaim it by stating that even when your father and mother forsake you, the Lord will hold you close. “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up” – Psalms 27:10. We will always have a Father who is the eternal lover of our soul, and he will never abandon us.
The third promise is we are redeemed and have an eternal home in heaven. When I worked as a chaplain for a veterans organization years ago, I would read the Bible to a few that were in care facilities. Psalm 121 was one of the most popular scripture read. That’s because this Psalm describes God as our unfailing protecter who gives us an eternal home. It reads, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your food to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.” The Holy Spirit remind us all God has done for us and wants to be in our lives.
The fourth promise is, God created us with intention and knows us intimately. The card bracket creation and its redemption plan for Jesus also crafted us. David praise God in Psalm 139:13-16 by saying, “For it was you who formed my inward parts. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Not only are we God’s masterpieces, but God has a special plan for each of our lives that spans the number of our days.
The fifth promise is, You are who the Bible says you are. God has a special plan for our lives, even though we sometimes doubt and don’t feel special. While no one is perfect, we are not flawed, inferior, or replaceable in God’s eyes. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Whatever insecurities rear their ugly heads, the Bible encourages us to replace their lies with truth. A regular diet of scripture and attention to God’s still small voice within can be immeasurably helpful -it’s like putting the belt of truth around our waist (Ephesians 6:14).
In Isaiah 43:1 the Lord says, “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name. You are mine.” God continues in Isaiah 43:4, “Since you have been precious and honored in my sight, and I have loved you, therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.” Our insecurities cannot rob us of who or whose we are.
The sixth promise is God’s plan for your life is to prosper you, not to harm you. Our world knows brokenness and sin, but God knows Hope and restoration. One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Jeremiah. 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God‘s plan for our life includes hope, and a prosperous future, or one in which we thrive. In Psalm 103 David says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits -who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you will love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”
God is invested in our well-being and working towards our renewal, wholeness, and healing daily. In addition to blessing us, God has big dreams for our lives and beckoned us to follow. Obedience often requires faith and risk, but God will delight in our dependence on him And will always be there to support us.
Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
The seventh promise is The risk that God is calling you to take is worth it. We were all made with a purpose, but we cannot accomplish that purpose without obedience. We must be willing to trust the Creator and step out, and take His hand in faith. The prominent figures in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation risked a lot. It’s important to know that the risks that God calls us to are calculated, not reckless and is based on faith, not fear, and it will be rooted in our identity, in whom God created us to be. It requires that we face uncertainty, and even that we remain persistent in that uncertainty, which is difficult. If we remain faithful and do not give up. Galatians 6:9 tells us, “Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.” Even if the outcome is different than we anticipated, Romans 8:28 tells us that God will work all things for our good, and we will unlock an adventure of vibrant faith relationship.
Promise eight is, You have special strength available through Faith which is the power of Jesus. Every time I am struggling with something I repeat Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” God will never call us to a place and leave us unattended. Be assured that the God who numbered the hairs on our heads is fighting for us. Psalm 5:12 tells us, “For you will bless the righteous. Lord you will surround him with favor as with a shield.” We have an insurmountable ally in God. Romans 8:31 says, “For if God is for you, who can be against you.”
Promise nine is, God hears your prayers and can move through them. God shows us His glory everyday, we are just too busy to recognize it. The beauty of nature, through providence and grace, God sustains life every day breathing life into us everyday. I have seen God heal diseases, save souls, and, and redeem pasts.
In John 14:13-14 Jesus tells us, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son, If you ask anything in My name, I will do.” I believe this is why obedience is so crucial. God isn’t going to answer the prayers of someone who sins or rejects Him.
We cannot control God’s answers to our requests, prayer opens the door for God to act through our beliefs. Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, with guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” We should never underestimate the power and privilege of prayer -we have the ear of the Creator of the universe.
Promise ten is, Hope is always alive in your life through faith. It’s heartbreaking when we witness power, corrupting organizations, lies, deceiving people in politics, and senseless violence. We are not immune to losing or hurting in our personal life. It’s easy to be tempted to lose hope. Psalm 126:5 reminds us of the promise that, “Those who sow with tears with reap songs of joy.” No matter how dire the situation, we serve a God who specializes in “beauty for ashes,” even death does not have the last word. Hope can work that powerfully. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus encourages us to be like children, “Truly I tell you unless to change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus uses the child as an example of humility, innocence and teachability. He explained whoever takes the humble position of a child is considered the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus encourages us to adopt the innocent, trusting nature of a child. A child still believes that goodwill conquers evil, and Almighty God is always at work. That gives us cause to praise and remain hope filled.
When we serve as true believers of Jesus we give to our flesh the spiritual promises that we have benefited from and shared them with the world. Yay house.
From Pity to Praise 