“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17
No question about it – nothing is too hard for God. These are the truths of God that we celebrate – it is a truth like this that gives oxygen to our faith. When Jeremiah was inspired by God to write those words, these are the things he and the people of Israel knew:
He created the world – with His outstretched arm and His powerful voice – nothing is too hard for Him.
He convinced a man to build a ship when rain had never fallen on the earth and then managed to flood the earth – nothing is too hard for Him.
He delivered the children of Israel with miraculous signs and wonders and convinced the Egyptians – the very people who held them captive - to send them off fully equipped for their journey – nothing is to hard for him.
He held back the Red Sea and created dry land for the people to cross – nothing is too hard for him.
He fed thousands of people in the desert with manna from heaven – nothing is too hard for him.
He gave his people possession of a land flowing with milk and honey – nothing is too hard for him.
And that’s just the short list!
But here’s the question that I know we often times ask ourselves. If nothing is too hard for God, then why doesn’t he ____________or why didn’t he stop _____________from happening (I’m certain we can all fill in our own blanks for our lives)?
See, there is nothing that is too hard for God, but there is one thing that is impossible for him - blasphemous as it may sound to say that. Here is the thing that is impossible for God – He cannot allow anything into our lives that he ultimately can’t and won’t work for our good. He is Holy, He is Sovereign, He is perfect in love and he will not allow us to have something or experience something that is not his best for us or go through something that is not workable for our good. To do this would go against the very nature of who God is. It goes against his word true and faithful word – read what he has promised:
“For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11
What a promise that is! The reality, though, is that we can spend a long time waiting for God to reveal that plan. Some of us are perhaps feeling a little more harmed then prospered right now. Some are clinging to just a thread of hope for dreams and desires we’ve been waiting a long time to come true. And some are wondering how and or when God will finally reveal at least some portion of that plan he has.
And yet me must know and believe – that’s what faith is. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” In faith, we hang on – this is what Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses – all those who have waited for a promise – are commended by God for. Not their actions, not their service, not their own righteousness – but faith.
In a long journey, though, clinging to faith can be hard. I’m sure if you could speak to the patriarchs today, they would say the same. But they knew what it took to cling. And if you read further on in Jeremiah 29, God shows us the way.
His first instruction for clinging with a promise included says this (vs. 12):
“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
So there it is – call upon God. Prayer is the oxygen of our faith. We call upon him with a humble heart and lay our dreams, our desires, our failures and our fears before him. And then we ask for his forgiveness, his help, his intervention, his action – and he steps in and meets us in our longing. I like the prayer that Daniel prayed – I think it is the best model of Jeremiah 29:12 put into practice. Here is his prayer from Daniel 9:17-19:
“Now, our God, hear the prayer and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and people bear your Name.”
By the way – it is okay to plagiarize prayers and I steal this one all the time and make it mine!
The second instruction and promise for helping us cling to our faith is in verse 13:
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Seek God daily – search his word, study it, meditate on it, write it – and let God write in on your heart. Seek him daily – and soon you will not have to look far to find him as he fills your heart, your thoughts, and your prayers as you walk through your day. He is easily found, my friend – seek him with all your heart, and his desires become your desires – and his desires for you are good – they are to prosper you and not to harm you!
In this Christmas season, remember that clinging to God as we wait in hope for his good and gracious promises gives us the opportunity to see him display his glory in our lives. And oh, my sweet friends – how stunning is the glory God shines in our lives when he enters in! Listen to the words of Isaiah as he describes the one who has allowed God’s glory to enter in:
“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” – Isaiah 61:3
I pray that you would know, my friends, that you are an oak of righteousness!
Today's blog was posted by Carol Bartels
Thanks Carol for today’s blog and I will definitely plagiarize the prayer in Daniel 9:17-19. What a powerful, powerful prayer! Especially where it says “ We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and people bear your Name.” I am just speechless and thanks again for this forum.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic!! Yes indeed I am clinging to the promises(more than 1,000 promises are found in the Bible)!!! some 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah prophesized as to this wonderful reality which was actually a promise of a future event at that time. Although that promise has to be the greatest of all, I also love so many others, and I recommend a book called 'The Bible Promise Book'--->By Barbour and Company, Inc. Here are some promises on which I love to focus/meditate--->(Proverbs 22:24,25)--->Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared. *I used to be an incredibly angry man, so this is special to me. Thank the Lord that His love has enabled me to have many friends in spite of my anger, and I personally will try to help the angry, not turn away from them, but I have learned how/when to visit with them and when not to be around them, and to merely pray instead of spending time with them during angry moments. I have finally learned to be slow to anger and not to sin in anger(most of the time) as Paul taught. (Proverbs 8:17)--->I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. Be a blessing!!
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