Inspirational Thought of the Day:

God has good plans for us and wants to bless us, but not more than the character earned while waiting.

Scripture of the Day:

Job 5:7-8

7 “But people are born to trouble, as surely as the sparks fly upward. 8 But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would set forth my case.”

Exploring the source, purpose and nature of God’s promises has been a joy this past week. I hope it has encouraged you, as well. But sometimes the pain of broken promises leaves us wondering how we can access God’s precious eternal promises. Releasing the hurt of broken promises puts us in a place of being able to receive God’s amazing promises, but sometimes His promises still seem beyond us, for someone else.

Accessing God’s Promises

The fact is, trouble visits us all. Problems will vary from person to person, but they are uniquely our own. Comparing problems to others is futile. Someone will always have larger or smaller problems than us. But our individual relationship with God determines our response and the outcome of those problems.

Apart from the grace of God, we tend to be somewhat childish in our expectations. We want what we want when we want it. (Wow, talk about alliteration on that last sentence, lol, but I digress). We can become disillusioned when we don’t get our way.

Sometimes it seems unnecessary to have all of the waiting between a need and a promise, when God sees our suffering and is fully capable of delivering us.

God is not wanting to tease us. He does have good plans for us and wants to bless us, but not more than the character earned in waiting.

So how do we access the promises of God? Perhaps an unpopular word today – but good old fashioned obedience opens the doorway to God’s promises. We hold up our end of the promises of God by asking Him to help us to. Then we look to our God to do what He said He was going to do.

Job 5:22-27 is a beautiful picture of our God Who disciplines those he loves. The blessings God bestows on those who maintain their trust in Him in the chasm between our lack and waiting for the promise is far beyond what our original desire was.

When I was on my knees crying out to God to deliver me and show me His mercy, God changed me. What I thought I wanted was not what I ended up with, but God’s promises blessed me far greater than what I was holding onto. It is in trusting that our Creator knows us and our need better than we do that we are set free to receive God’s promises without our conditions.

We cannot manipulate an all-knowing God into getting our way. True freedom is in laying down our agenda and seeking His will and promises for us. We cannot claim the promises of God when we have not followed His decrees, but we can ask God to change us.

All hardship and troubles in this world are to be accepted as discipline that works character into our souls. God lovingly gives us strength in difficult times and every suffering is never in vain. Burdens in this life will hurt, but an authentic life is not formed in perfect circumstances. Instead, the greatest joy of our lives is found in knowing and loving our God, and ultimately seeing Him glorified and His purposes fulfilled in us.