I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned;
I only know at His right hand
Is One who is my Savior!
I take Him at His word indeed:
"Christ died for sinners," this I read;
For in my heart I find a need
For Him to be my Savior.
That He should leave His place on high,
And come for sinful man to die;
You count it strange? So once did I
Before I knew my Savior!
So, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring:
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior.
By: Dora Greenwell
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
God's Promises
My mind has been focused on God's promises lately. In junior church we have been learning about God's promises to Abraham. God had blessed Abraham in every way except he didn't have a son to pass on the blessings on to. God had promised to bless Abraham with as many descendants as the sand of the sea shore and the stars in the sky, He promised that through his seed all nations would be blessed. Yet, the years passed, and Abraham made quite a few pretty serious mistakes at different times when he didn't trust God's protection. If he had really been trusting God to fulfill His promises why would he have been worried about someone killing him so that they could marry his wife Sarah? God promised him descendants! Lesson number one: we do dumb things when we don't trust God. (And yes this is coming from personal experience versus just learning from Abraham...)
Lesson number two: God will always, always keep His promises...regardless of how the situation seems. Abraham was 99 years old and his wife was 90 when God once again came to tell them that Sarah was going to have a son. I don't know about you, but I think by the time I turned 90 I would have given up all hope. They must have too because they laughed. Time and age isn't a fact when it comes to God working; He can't be limited. He had a plan and the whole situation was under control. Sarah had a son and named him Isaac. God was proving to Abraham and Sarah that He was indeed faithful and could be trusted.
Lesson number three: Obedience and trust build more obedience and trust. God proved Himself faithful and trustworthy by providing a son to Abraham and Sarah, and through that they learned to trust God. And not just to kind of trust Him, but to wholeheartedly, without question trust Him. Abraham was so convinced that God would keep His word of Isaac being his promised son that when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a brunt offering, Abraham put his son on the alter and had the knife raised to kill him. God had already worked such a miracle, He could also raise Isaac up from the dead. That is some pretty amazing faith growth for a man who was afraid to call his wife his wife. Yet another connection with things that God has been showing me in my own life. The more I am willing to trust Him and be obedient the more He grows my faith and helps me to be obedient, but He calls me to be obedient. He won't grow my faith if I am not willing. God didn't allow Abraham to actually kill his son, but He wanted to know that He was willing. God may not ask me to actually sacrifice something, but I have to be willing to trust and obey Him regardless of the perceived cost.
Lesson number four: God's promises are not dependent on my understanding of them. Abraham and Sarah didn't understand how she was going to have a son when she was so old. Abraham didn't understand how Isaac was going to be his heir after he was offered as a brunt offering. I don't have to understand God's purpose, timing, ways, or even His promise; my job is to trust Him and be obedient with what He wants me to do today. That shouldn't be hard with as many times as He has been faithful to me and kept His promises, and if I happen to forget all that He has done in my life, I don't have to look very far in the Bible to see His faithfulness and His promises.
Friday night I was reminded of how much of a moot point my understanding is of God's plans and promises. An older friend shared with me her Bible that she has had since she was very young. I couldn't make out more than a couple of words here and there; it was written in Finish. I turned to Romans 8 to see if I could understand any of the words. As I browsed I was struck by a far more precious understanding than my being able to read Finish. I realized that God's promises are just as true when I don't understand them as when I do. Regardless of whether the words made sense to me, they were still true!! In Christ Jesus there is no condemnation, He is working all things out for His glory and my good, the Holy Spirit is interceding for me, and there is absolutely NOTHING that can separate me from His wonderful love!!! So whether I understand His when, where, why, how, or who doesn't matter; it won't change His faithfulness. Even when I fail, He is still faithful and still keeps His promises. WOW!! What can I do but trust and obey Him? :o)
Lesson number two: God will always, always keep His promises...regardless of how the situation seems. Abraham was 99 years old and his wife was 90 when God once again came to tell them that Sarah was going to have a son. I don't know about you, but I think by the time I turned 90 I would have given up all hope. They must have too because they laughed. Time and age isn't a fact when it comes to God working; He can't be limited. He had a plan and the whole situation was under control. Sarah had a son and named him Isaac. God was proving to Abraham and Sarah that He was indeed faithful and could be trusted.
Lesson number three: Obedience and trust build more obedience and trust. God proved Himself faithful and trustworthy by providing a son to Abraham and Sarah, and through that they learned to trust God. And not just to kind of trust Him, but to wholeheartedly, without question trust Him. Abraham was so convinced that God would keep His word of Isaac being his promised son that when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a brunt offering, Abraham put his son on the alter and had the knife raised to kill him. God had already worked such a miracle, He could also raise Isaac up from the dead. That is some pretty amazing faith growth for a man who was afraid to call his wife his wife. Yet another connection with things that God has been showing me in my own life. The more I am willing to trust Him and be obedient the more He grows my faith and helps me to be obedient, but He calls me to be obedient. He won't grow my faith if I am not willing. God didn't allow Abraham to actually kill his son, but He wanted to know that He was willing. God may not ask me to actually sacrifice something, but I have to be willing to trust and obey Him regardless of the perceived cost.
Lesson number four: God's promises are not dependent on my understanding of them. Abraham and Sarah didn't understand how she was going to have a son when she was so old. Abraham didn't understand how Isaac was going to be his heir after he was offered as a brunt offering. I don't have to understand God's purpose, timing, ways, or even His promise; my job is to trust Him and be obedient with what He wants me to do today. That shouldn't be hard with as many times as He has been faithful to me and kept His promises, and if I happen to forget all that He has done in my life, I don't have to look very far in the Bible to see His faithfulness and His promises.
Friday night I was reminded of how much of a moot point my understanding is of God's plans and promises. An older friend shared with me her Bible that she has had since she was very young. I couldn't make out more than a couple of words here and there; it was written in Finish. I turned to Romans 8 to see if I could understand any of the words. As I browsed I was struck by a far more precious understanding than my being able to read Finish. I realized that God's promises are just as true when I don't understand them as when I do. Regardless of whether the words made sense to me, they were still true!! In Christ Jesus there is no condemnation, He is working all things out for His glory and my good, the Holy Spirit is interceding for me, and there is absolutely NOTHING that can separate me from His wonderful love!!! So whether I understand His when, where, why, how, or who doesn't matter; it won't change His faithfulness. Even when I fail, He is still faithful and still keeps His promises. WOW!! What can I do but trust and obey Him? :o)
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