The Promises of God
For the past month, I’ve spent time reading through the life of Jacob. There’s a few things that have stood out to me through this reading, but the one that the Lord keeps bringing me back to is this: Jacob had a hard life. Every chapter from Genesis 28-35 speak of a difficulty he was enduring.
Yes, Jacob did bring some of his trials upon himself. The man who deceived his dad got quite a lesson from his uncle, Laban (who wrote the curriculum for the school of deception). But Jacob also dealt with the poor choices and sin of others, and had to absorb them.
So, why has this insight regarding Jacob captivated me? Because it seems to stand in stark contrast to the promises that God declared to him in Genesis 28:13-15.
I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
If God said similar things to you, what would you imagine your life would be like? If the God of the universe declared these promises, would you imagine that everything else would be easy? Would you take those promises and make determinations about HOW God would bring them about? When difficulties came knocking, would you wonder what’s happening? Would you throw a pity party and remind God of what He declared?
Sadly, I am guilty of every one of those behaviors.
See, I think we get things wrong when it comes to the promises of God. They are given to sustain and help us endure WHEN we go through difficult times. Jacob would need that amazing promise to sustain him in the times when his lived experience seemed contrary to what God had declared. And, Jacob spent the rest of his life living on these promises. He chose to accept what God declared and not allow his circumstances to have the final say.
We have the same choice to make. We have received great and precious promises that through these we may be part takers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). These promises are for us cling to when nothing else seems to be going well. These promises help lift our eyes away from the temporary and fleeting things of this world and focus them on heaven.
What are some promises of God that you cling to? How have they carried you through trying times in the past? Do you need to cling to some of His promises now?
