Promises of God

Genesis 21

As much as it might seem like the opposite is true, God does not forget the promises He has made and He doesn't turn a blind eye to our distress.  The problem is we live in a fallen world that yearns for the instant gratification of cheap, fast, and yesterday and we expect God to fulfill what His plans are according to that broken mentality.  But the joy that comes from the unfolding of His plan is ultimately worth the sacrifice of the time it takes to get there.

God is always gracious to us and does what He promised He would do.  And many times He will bring laughter by the way He meets our greatest desires, particularly when it seems that all hope is lost and the likelihood of fulfillment has long surpassed its possibility.

Even in our most uncertain circumstance, God listens to, understands, and shows His mercy and compassion about what concerns us.  If He says He'll take care of it, we are to simply believe He will.....even if we don't see it or know the how, where, or when of it all.

Additionally, our tears are never wasted.  God is aware of each and every one that falls and uses them to draw near to us.  He shows us that even when things feel out of control to us, they are never out of His control and because of that we don't have to be afraid.  It's often at these times that He can reveal what was before us the entire time that we missed because we were focusing on the wrong things.

Sometimes God's provision will require us to be an active participant.  We can take comfort through our obedience because we know that God is with us no matter where we may find ourselves physically or situationally.  And perhaps these are the best times to call on the name of the Lord that showed up in our trouble to do something to remind us of His actions.

Our lives are not God's favorite spectator sport.  He is always on our side, by our side, and reaching out to us.