Daily Devotional for September 12, 2014

1 Kings 8:56
Praise the Lord! He has kept his promise and given us peace. Every good thing he promised to his servant Moses has happened.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

“I promise!” These two words often roll off the tongue fairly easily, don’t they? I promise I will be on time...study hard...never say or do that again...call/write/visit...love you forever and ever, no matter what may happen.  But here’s the thing...we’re HUMAN. So we often “write checks we can’t cash.”  We can’t see the “bumps in the road” or the mitigating circumstances that may arise.  We can’t fully know what twists and turns lie ahead...and how we will react and respond to them. So we make promises – hopefully with all of the best intentions in the world – and then “life” gets in the way of our delivery.

The GREAT NEWS is that God never breaks a promise. He never tells us that He will do something and then fails us.  We can fully believe that God will do what He has said that He will do. God promised Moses that He would deliver his people out of Egypt. And he did...it just took forty years.

In Exodus 6:6-8, God promised Moses...

• I will punish the Egyptians and free you from slavery.
• I will accept you as my people.
• I will be your God.
• I will bring you into the land that I solemnly promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it will be yours.

So why did Moses lead his people to the Promised Land, yet die before he set foot there himself?  The short answer is that Moses didn’t always listen to God.  There were times when Moses failed to trust God...or he trusted in his own abilities more than those of God...or he tried to orchestrate things in his own timing. And nothing has changed...we still do this!  But God has not changed.  He is still persistent and unfailing. He has numbered the hairs of our head, and nothing can keep Him from caring for us.

Whether you realize it or not, God has made many promises to each of us. If you have surrendered to God and asked Him to forgive your sins by the blood of Jesus Christ...

• God has promised to be all that you need.  2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "But he replied, 'My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.' So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am."
• God has promised to meet all of your needs. Philippians 4:19 tells us, "I pray that God will take care of all your needs with the wonderful blessings that come from Christ Jesus!"
• God has promised to always work on your behalf.  In Romans 8:28, we read..."We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose..."
• God has promised that you will not be tempted beyond what you can handle with His help. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that..."You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations."
• God has promised to save you, if you believe in Jesus Christ. Mark 16:16 declares that... "Anyone who believes me and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe me will be condemned."
• God has promised that death is not the end!  In Acts2:32, we see that...”All of us can tell you that God has raised Jesus to life!"
• God has promised to protect you as His child and give you eternal life. In John 10:27, we are told..."My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me..."

These are reasons to shout for joy. The God who makes these promises to us deserves our praise and glory...our honor and admiration...our devotion and our service. Because of God’s promises, we are more than okay...we are well in every sense of the word! We have a Great Physician who can heal of us of anything and assure us of eternal life in His presence!

Where have you failed to listen to God?  Where have you blocked His promises for your life and delayed His answers and blessings?  Will this be the day that you recognize the strength and power of God’s promises... feel His healing touch...and allow Him to work every area of your life?  Isn’t it time you did?

©2014 Debbie Robus