God Promised
Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it? ~Genesis 15:6-8 {NIV}
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.” ~Genesis 15:12-14 {NIV}
Trust is one of those words I try not to shy away from, however, some days I fail miserably at it. Packing up my house and taking my kids to a shelter six years ago was the first step in my faith walk. I had to take God at His literal word and trust that He would make good on every promise made to me.
The Bible says that God’s Word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11) to us. That scripture challenged me to put trust into action like I never had before. Going into that shelter and having just started a job, I had eight weeks to change the trajectory of life for my kids and me. My faith was stretched. My first paycheck on week one was $160 and $3500 by week eight. I called God out and told Him what I expected Him to do in my life and provide for the kids and me.
Many people get caught up in mundane prayers and flake out because God isn’t moving in other areas of their life. He’s not moving because your faith is weak and you are not being real in the conversations you have with Him in your devotion time. During those eight weeks, I learned to be very transparent with God and tell Him what I knew He promised me according to the Bible. Not only did He show up, He showed up in grand style.
The next test of my trust in was leaving everything familiar behind in Pennsylvania and making a 22 hour trek to Texas four years ago. THAT was the biggest leap of faith I had ever taken, yet, a step necessary to continue growing and maturing into the woman God created me to be.
Texas was a place in which I knew a handful of women. I had met them a month earlier at the Steve Harvey Mentoring Camp my oldest son and I attended. One of those women opened her home to me and allowed me to sleep on her sofa for a month until receiving my first paycheck from CPS. God told Abraham to do the same thing. To leave everything and everyone behind so He could take possession of the land God promised him. Abraham was set up and comfortable where he was, yet, in Godlike fashion, He wanted to make good on His promise to Abraham and his decedents.
Had I not followed God’s nudging to leave a valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14), so He could continue working in me, my life would be stagnant and restless. Had Abraham not followed God’s instruction, there is no telling how our lives would be. I know for certain that had Abraham not been obedient, prophecy would not have been fulfilled and we may not have been called into existence. God calls His chosen to come out of their comfort zone and move where and when He tells us. Our responsibility is to TRUST in His plan and process for our life.
Abraham questioned God and wanted to know how He would know when he arrived in the Promised Land. God told him to make a sacrifice and allowed a deep sleep to come over him. It was during that fitful night’s sleep that God revealed the things to come (v13-14).
God will not leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6) because of His never ending love. He already knows how our life story will play out and only wants us to trust Him to bring His promises to fruition. The Bible instructs us to cast all of our cares on the Lord because He loves us (Proverbs 12:25; 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6-7) and does not want us to be so bogged down by life that we lose sight of the need to trust and believe the promises laid out over two thousand years ago.
Trusting is hard because it is a place of vulnerability and transparency in which you rely on someone else to step in and bridge the gap for us (Hebrews 10:24). When we put our trust in man, there is always a risk involved that can either work for or against us. I have learned this valuable lesson the hard way and am now at a place in life where I try the spirit by the spirit. (1 John 4:1-5) I’ve learned to see people for who they are and trust God to reveal them for what they represent in my life. I have also learned to trust those God sends into my life and am open to the lesson they were sent to teach.
However, when we put our trust in God, He works things out in His way and in His time for our good (Romans 8:28). Trust is faith in action and shows God that we know or have an idea of what He represents in our life. Leaving Pennsylvania was full of uncertainty and doubt, however, in comparison to four years ago, my life is a lot different.
I’m working my dream job as a teacher and know I have not scraped the tip of the iceberg as far as my life’s purpose is concerned. I also realize that the issue I am currently faced with will work out as God predestined it to. Yet, the only way to discover, accept and know the hidden nuggets of my life is to trust God wholly. In this place of trust, I will continually seek His way and call Him out on the promises He made me thirteen years ago (Jeremiah 29:11). I challenge you to put your trust where your heart is and believe that every good and perfect thing comes from God (James 1:7).
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- God Promised - October 30, 2018