Category: God’s Promises

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Love Straight To Your Inbox. (Or In My Case, A Mailbox)

A couple weeks ago the Holy Spirit told me to pray that I would recieve His love straight to my mailbox. He told me it would be out of people’s obedience to His voice & blow my expectations.
Every day over the past week, I have received care packages, notes, gifts, and an abundance of love straight to my inbox, just like He promised.
I am blown away each day as I go to my mailbox and find something new that extends his love. Truth be told, I went out reluctantly today, thinking there was going to be an end to it. Holy Spirit gently reminded me, “There is no end to my love” & I pulled out another handwritten note from a friend.

My encouragement to you today my friend is to set your expectations upon His love and expect His goodness. If you feel like fainting, keep trusting and not in your own strength. I know what it’s like to have a season that feels like it will never end. The suffering comes in waves upon waves and you realize HE is the only reason you’re not drowning. His grace is what has given you strength. He is the only one that has carried you through. But I also know what it’s like to tangibly feel His comfort and see His love in the midst of the darkest moments. His light pierces even the the darkest seasons of your life.

Draw near to him.
Seek him.
You will find him.
He is the only love that truly satisfies.

It will never grow cold, run dry, or run out. His love is never ending.

•Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalms 23:4‭-‬5 CSB
•I  would  have  lost  heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord ; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord !
Psalms 27:13‭-‬14 NKJV
•Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
2 Corinthians 1:3‭-‬5 CSB

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Taking God At His Word

There has been a common theme over the course of my walk with God. That being, he desires us to take him at his word. Over and over we are put in positions that require us to put hope in the things unseen. We need ever-increasing faith. Faith is God’s warranty that what he has said will come to pass. It is putting complete hope and trust in God himself. Somewhere along the way, we allow fear and doubt creep in. I have learned that these doubts and fears do not always look like themselves, they are often disguised as something else. Such as, impatience growing because it hasn’t happened yet or expecting things to go one way and it goes another way.

There are two people in the Word of God that the Holy Spirit has brought to my attention that took him at his word, Mary (the Mother of Jesus) and the Centurion found in Luke 7. Both of these people said one phrase in two different ways.

“Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” -Luke 1:38 NKJV

“That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.” -Luke 7:7 CSB

Say the word.

Let it be done to me according to your word.

I have been treated for mental illness that I was told would never go away, but I was challenged to take God at his word. Now I have been set free, healed, delivered from what oppressed me for almost 4 years. Why? I took God at his word. I was told we would never conceive a baby without fertility treatments. Yet, the Lord promised me that we would get pregnant in January. He was once again faithful to his word. There have been times where we did not know where money was going to come from after we were in two car accidents. Because we took God at his word that he rebukes the devour and opens the floodgates of heaven and will pour out a blessing there is not room enough to receive as we tithe our first-fruits…We now have two cars paid off in our driveway and lack nothing. Just like he spoke through is word, all came to pass.

So many times we can put God in a humanistic box. We think because God did not do it yet, he does not want to do it. When the truth of his word says if he gave us Jesus, what won’t he gives us? He does not give us anything reluctantly and surely if we ask him for bread he will not give us a stone. Many of these doubts and lies come from people when they have let us down. We automatically see God as someone who could fail us or maybe does not want to do what he said he would do. We put him in a humanistic box when really he is a Good Father and he will never let us down, nor fail us.

Rest assured, if his word SAYS it, it IS his WILL for it to happen in your life. We must interrogate our thoughts as they come in. If they do not line up with what God has promised, make them obedient to Christ. The word of God is our weapons for the tactics of the enemy that try to make us doubt God’s goodness. The sword of the Spirit is the Word Of God. Do not think it is a concidence that the enemy works hard to make the bible seem like just a book. He knows that the name Jesus has more power than he could ever imitate. The devil knows that when you take God at his word, there is nothing that can hinder you. Then you are walking in authority as God has called you to. There are several more instances throughout the Word of God where we are told the power of the Word of God.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” -Isaiah 55:11 KJV

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”” -Luke 1:45 NKJV

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” -Hebrews 10:23 NLT

Over and over again we are met with God’s faithfulness. We must refuse to partner with doubt, fear, or anything else that is trying to make us waver. We must take God at his word, understanding he never breaks a promise that he has spoken.

What are you putting faith ON right now? WHO are you putting faith IN?

Faith is God’s warranty that he will do what he said he will do! Unlike worldly warranty’s, we have full access through our forerunner Jesus Christ! What has been promised has already been sealed through the blood of Jesus. He has went ahead and given us the victory.

Go before God with expectancy. He will do things in an order that you cannot comprehend. And no, things are not always going to be easy. However, he won’t ever break his promise. Place your expectancy in HIM. Release the need for control of how you think it may happen and be obedient one hour at a time. He is the one directing your steps. Above all else, never be ashamed, afraid, or reluctant for taking God at his word.

God is not a man, so he does not lie.
    He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
    Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Numbers 23:19 NLT

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In The Middle

Life frequently feels like we are on hold on the other line with the annoying “we will be with you shortly” playing over and over again. We are waiting on healing, salvation of lost loved ones, a new job, a promotion, to be published, or the child God has promised. We know the promises, we believe them, and we even speak them. “What is taking so long?”, “Why am I on hold?”, and “Help me Jesus” are all things I have personally said while waiting. Along the path the enemy will try and come in and plant seeds of doubt about who you are, who God is, and what he has spoken.

God tenderly reminded me of these important truth’s this morning and wants me to share them with you!

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” -Revelation 22:13 NLT

God is the beginning and the end, and we are apart of his creation somewhere in between. So much of what we go through does not make sense with an earthly, humanistic perspective. If we saw things from the grand view of things, God’s perspective, we would understand that he is a God of order and has an appointed time for everything. That appointed time is perfect for his grand plan for us and everyone around us.

Have you ever been on hold on the phone and almost hung up because you had things to do and could not wait (not knowing you were the next caller)? When you finally reach someone to help they cannot help you? After holding for so long on the other line you wonder if you’ll ever get this problem solved? Or when you were waiting the long winded message goes silent? I believe the Holy Spirit gave me these examples because we act like we were forgotten. In reality, the truth is God could never forget us and has heard our every prayer. There are times when we mistakenly “hang up the phone” or abort the promises of God because we believe they will never come to pass rather than understanding that God loves us so much he cannot possibly give us something early that would not be good. When we pray sometimes, we act like God can’t help us. This problem is too big, we aren’t praying right, or he doesn’t want to help us with out problems. In the middle it even feels like he is silent.

The truth of the matter is that all things were created through him and for him. All things begin and end with him. We must trust him in the middle. We must have patient endurance in the process. It is not that God does not care. There is no love that is greater or purer than his. Love is who God is. It is not that God does not desire for you to see those things come to pass. If he gave us Jesus, his only Son, what won’t he do for us? Amidst waiting, having the perspective that God is after developing our hearts rather than maintaining our comfort is essential. We need to put into practice not focusing on what we can see and believe what he has said.

How do we put this into practice?

The utmost important thing for you and I to do is to sit at his feet. God desires for you to cast your cares upon him because he cares (1 Peter 5:7). He wants to exchange your worries for his peace (Philippians 4:6-7). The God who loves us pulls up a chair, lays on the floor, and even meets you in the bathroom where no one can hear you. In the middle is the perfect time to grow closer and develop more intimacy with God. All things begin and end with him. In the middle right where we are, we are to trust that he is working everything out for our good. It is necessary to seek his face, the truth of his word, and what he wants to speak to us every single day. When satan tries to come in and plant seeds of doubt so eventually we will speak doubt, we are prepared and ready for battle. We can pull out our sword (the word of God) and speak the truth that will never fade away. In the middle God wants us to know him. When we know the truth about him, the middle does not seem so bad. We begin to understand that we are apart of something so much larger than us. We begin to realize that receiving what he has promised early could effect generations after us and all he does is out of his love and what is best for us. The middle at times may not feel good, in fact, at times it feels like suffering. In Ecclesiastes 7:8 the Message version puts our circumstance into these words, “Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out.” The confidence in God that we desperately need is found through seeking his face. That confidence is what we need to stand in faith. The time we have right now with him is to be embraced rather than endured.

There are two reminders I want to leave you with:

What God has promised to do he will finish.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Phillippians 1:6 ESV

You are no longer a slave to fear or unmet expectations. He who promised is faithful. You will receive what he has promised in full!

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Romans 8:15-18 NLT

So don’t lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward! You need the strength of endurance to reveal the poetry of God’s will and then you receive the promise in full. For soon and very soon, “The One who is appearing will come without delay!” And he also says, “My righteous ones will live from my faith. But if fear holds them back, my soul is not content with them!” But we are certainly not those who are held back by fear and perish; we are among those who have faith and experience true life! -Hebrews 10:35-39 TPT

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God’s Sovereign Timing

The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?”

But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.” -Genesis 18:10-14 CSB

After spending some time in Genesis 18 with the Holy Spirit, I have seen myself reflected in the life of Sarah. Especially through the journey of infertility and our miscarriage in January. Maybe you have too without even realizing it. You see, Sarah and Abraham had been promised something spectacular by God that took obedience and a whole lot of faith. They got up from all they knew and followed God to a place they didn’t even know until they got up and went. When they got the place they were, Sarah and Abraham’s promise of their own child seemed far out. After all they were like old, REALLY OLD. When Sarah overheard the conversation Abraham and the Lord were having about having a child of their own, she laughed. How many times have we felt like a promise was never going to come to pass? Our loved one will never be saved? Our rainbow baby will never come? What God said you would do, the people you would be able to speak to on his behalf, seems so far in the distance. There was nothing Sarah could offer God and nothing her husband could offer. They were, well what the bible classifies of “old age”. What man could do was well, impossible.

Sarah’s reaction was to laugh when God spoke the promises yet again. My reaction, after miscarrying our child, after praying for years for a child, when God told me we were going to get pregnant again was in fact laughter. Often times, when I am deep pain my coping skill is laughter. It is the opposite of what I should be doing in a ‘normal’ world. I cannot help but relate to Sarah as she laughed because the weight of her waiting. What God wanted was not what Sarah could offer God. He desired her belief and trust in him and that he would do what he would said he would do in the appointed time.

Did you catch that? Appointed time…

God has a season and a timing for everything. Just read in the book of Ecclesiastes. While I know it can be emotionally exhausting while waiting for those things God has promised to come to pass. Getting something early and not in God’s timing is a curse rather than a blessing. Trusting in him means also trusting in his timing. Holy Spirit did not leave us without the example of Sarah. He knew that Sarah’s wait would be almost unbearable and cause her grief, a deep affliction. But God reinstates her faith and belief in him by having her remember who he is…

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

So, I asked him. God is anything too hard for you?

Holy Spirit lead me to a wonderful place in Jeremiah that revealed some wonderful things about who God is that he wants me to share with you.

“Sovereign Lord, you made the earth and the sky by your great power and might; nothing is too difficult for you.” -Jeremiah 32:17 GNT

There are two things the Holy Spirit pointed out. Our Lord who made the heavens and the earth through his power and might is SOVEREIGN. He also gave me a direct answer to my question. NOTHING is too difficult for him. Our Lord is sovereign. Which means he has unrestricted power, absolute dominion, has no limitations or restraints on his strength.

So Sarah’s situation of being barren for so long was nothing in comparison to the sovereignty of the Lord. My situation of being promised great things about writing, who I would be speaking to, the babies he has promised, and the influence to bring people to him, is NOTHING in comparison to his sovereignty. For you it may be a diagnosis, a financial burden, or a dream so big you cannot simply see how things are going to come to pass. Whatever your situation may be, even if you may have laughed when he told you, is no comparison to the Lord’s Sovereignty.

Remember, there is an appointed time for the promises which God has given you are GOING to come to pass.  Our timing is not his timing, but we can trust that his timing is perfect. We can trust in his great power and might, the absolute dominion he has. We can trust in God’s love for us he displayed through sending us Jesus when we had nothing to offer. He is trustworthy, but we must trust in his timing. We all know how Sarah and Abraham’s story ends up. In fact, you are apart of that promise that came to pass. Many times his promises are greater than we could ever imagine. We must trust in God, understanding the appointed time he has spoken long before we were ever born is PERFECT. Like Sarah and I, there is a process to the promise and it may even make you laugh and purify the doubt right out of you. But what God has said is true and all he has spoke will come to pass.

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” -Luke 1:45 NKJV

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Suffering Before The Victory

Life has a way of throwing you unexpected curve balls that are going 90 miles per hour and hit you in the gut. These circumstances leave you with a heaviness. Such a heaviness that it does not matter if it finals week, dinner needs to be cooked, the house needs to be cleaned, and your hair is now dreads. You are glued to your chair because it does not seem possible to get up.

Where is my victory? This is not how life is supposed to be.

So often we here about ‘there is going to be a victory’ but we do not talk about the gut wrenching process that it takes to see the victory. No one is talking about the suffering. Yet, when I read through the word of God, Jesus himself over and over not only talks about suffering but endured suffering before he ever saw the fulfillment of the victory. This is easily displayed through the crucifixion. There had to be death before there was victory. There had to be suffering in order for all God had planned to do to save us could to truly come to pass.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. -Exodus 3:7-8 CSB

Yes, you may be suffering. God see’s you, he hears you, he has not forgotten you. Thankfully it does not stop at suffering, thankfully there is a rescue mission in place. I have been thankful for throughout the 2 car accidents, the miscarriage, and the recent loss of my Grandmother is that God has heard my cries, he still hears them. In fact he has kept every single tear I have ever cried in a bottle.

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
 You have recorded each one in your book. -Psalm 56:8 NLT

God has not forgotten you. Even though it may feel like he has, he has not forsaken you or left you. Jesus actually knows how you feel. So when you boldly cry out to him in anger and misunderstanding of all that has taken place (even in the parking lot of Wendy’s), he will meet you there. When you do not have the words to say because the heaviness on your chest feels like it is suffocating you, the Holy Spirit is there to help.

I am not going to be the person that preaches that all is fine and well in the life of a Christian. Unbeliever and believer alike both are going to go through sufferings because of the fallen world we live in. The bible shows in the life of the disciples (especially Paul) and Jesus, following God’s will is anything but easy. It’s hard. Sometimes it is really hard.

But, the wonderful news is, we do not have to go through these sufferings alone feeling misunderstood, alone, or forsaken. We do not have to wonder if the milk and honey in our land (promises fulfilled) will ever come. Each day, we are given the opportunity to boldly come before the Lord and cast our cares. He has invited us to come to him and exchange heaviness for his peace, rest in our souls.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

Just yesterday, I wept so loud that I was reminded of the time that Hannah was crying and Eli thought she was drunk. Sorry neighbors! But through prayer, God’s word, and just being with him, I have found encouragement, joy, strength, and peace.

I weep with sorrow; encourage me by your word. -Psalm 119:28 NLT

You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;
at your right hand are eternal pleasures. -Psalm 16:11 CSB

The truth of the matter is that living a life in a fallen world is hard, it’s messy, and there is a lot of suffering. We each are going through something. Jesus knows this. He has experienced suffering and he so deeply desires us to come before him in the process. It is ONLY in his presence we can be filled with peace, joy, strength, hope, and encouragement that surpasses all worldly understanding.

I am not sure what you are facing. I can tell you that you are not alone, God is there with you and I am enduring hardship too. This is not the end of the road, we are not stuck in suffering. We must remember as believers that this life is temporary and must not lose sight of heaven. There is so much we can learn in the midst of our present circumstances. As you are honest and vulnerable before the Lord he will exchange the unbearable heaviness for the truth. After all, the truth will set you free. It may be hard to move closer to God right now, but it is essential that you do even if it is one centimeter at a time. Everything that you need is found IN him.

More Scripture To Meditate On:

  • I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” -John 16:33 CSB
  • I’m exhausted and worn out with my weeping. I endure weary, sleepless nights filled with moaning, soaking my pillow with my tears. My eyes of faith won’t focus anymore, for sorrow fills my heart. There are so many enemies who come against me! Go away! Leave me, all you troublemakers! For the Lord has turned to listen to my thunderous cry. Yes! Yahweh my healer has heard all my pleading and has taken hold of my prayers and answered them all. -Psalm 6:6-9 TPT
  • Yet when holy lovers of God cry out to him with all their hearts, the Lord will hear them and come to rescue them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to all whose hearts are crushed by pain, and he is always ready to restore the repentant one. Even when bad things happen to the good and godly ones, the Lord will save them and not let them be defeated by what they face. -Psalm 34:17-19 TPT
  • Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make. Become intimate with him in whatever you do, and he will lead you wherever you go. Don’t think for a moment that you know it all, for wisdom comes when you adore him with undivided devotion and avoid everything that’s wrong. Then you will find the healing refreshment your body and spirit long for. -Proverbs 3:5-8 TPT