You came back! I hope you are enjoying the devotionals in this Advent series on God’s “I WILL” promises.
Recently, two of my dear friends died within a single week. Neither death was expected. One woman was the caregiver for her husband; we were all shocked to find that Carol was the first to go! The other woman enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and, after one last sip of coffee, had a stroke; June died the next day. It will be a hard Christmas for their families.
When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death or whether we sit down to eat in the presence of our enemies, we look to God for protection. How encouraging to hear God say in Isaiah 43:2:
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
Again, in Isaiah 41:13, he tells us, “I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will be here to help you.’” And in Ex. 14:14, Moses records, “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm!”
These promises comfort us. There is no question that God has all the power needed to uphold his end of the contract. Our only responsibility is to trust and stay calm.
What trials are you facing in the weeks ahead? Can you take a deep breath, lean back and trust his arms to catch you?
Hi Emily! I am enjoying your “I WILL” devotionals. Interesting that today is the day that WILL live in Infamy! Amazing to think of how that event shaped the lives of our parents’ generation! And there is coming a day that WILL make that day in 1941 pale in comparison! As you are pointing out all of these fantastic promises, the thought occurred to me that the “I AM” God is also the “I WILL” God!! I haven’t looked yet, but the number of occurrences of that verb in the Bible must be great! One of the first is in Gen 3 when God says Jesus WILL crush Satan’s head! How blessed we are to know the One who has accomplished that on our behalf! Thank you for these wonderful, encouraging thoughts – God bless you, Emily!! -Charlie Kennedy