Tag Archives: God’s Promises

February 23, 2022 · 10:04 pm

STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

Recently, I had to go through a test that involved riding a bicycle for 6 minutes at different speeds to generate power. I started with an initial target of 60 Watts and ended at 145 Watts. It was very easy at the beginning as I had full energy and the required effort was not much. As it got harder, my energy waned, the required effort increased but I needed to complete the task. During the last 30 seconds, I almost gave up. The assessor had to count down for me. As he got closer to zero, I managed to pull together a burst of energy to make it to the end. When I almost quit, the countdown from the assessor and his reassurance somehow gave me the courage to persevere to the end. It didn’t matter that my legs were quaking at the end, what was important was that I didn’t give up. I made it!

The first chapter of Joshua has 18 verses and the phrase “Be strong and courageous” appears in 4 of those verses. 3 times God used this phrase to charge Joshua and the last time, it was the response of the people to his ‘commencement’ speech as they prepared to go into Canaan.

This same Joshua was one of the 12 secret agents that saw the giants in the land and had the temerity to bring back good news to the people, telling them that they could take over the land even though they were indeed minuscule when compared to the size of the giants. Even when 10 of them rationalized and buckled. Before then, Joshua had passed through intense mentoring and internship in the school of Moses. He had both theoretical and practical experience. Also, Moses had deposited a measure of the Spirit in him by laying hands on him. Yet, when it was time to lead the people into the land of their promise, God felt he needed this charge. Why?

Moses had put his hands on Joshua and appointed him to be the new leader. Then Joshua, son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom. So, the Israelites began to obey Joshua, and they did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Deuteronomy 34:9

Joshua had the commission to lead the people, the people had the promise that they would inherit the land. God’s promises are sure and steadfast, but it did not mean that there would be no obstacles and hurdles along the way. For God to repeat that phrase multiple times suggests that in spite of the anointing, Joshua’s work experience and the foundation of God’s infallible promise, some of those obstacles had the power to initiate the thoughts of quitting in his mind. If he gave enough thought to the obstacles instead of fixing his mind on the promise, nothing would have stopped him from giving up on the way. That would have made the people to miss the bounty that God promised them.

Joshua went, saw and conquered. The promise of God did not remove the giants that they had seen during their reconnaissance visit. They still had to fight and overcome them. He held on to God’s promise and the charge to be strong and courageous. He led the people to their inheritance. He has left the stage and we are on the scene now. As sure as the rising of the sun each day, we will face our own giants. Reasons to doubt the efficacy of God’s promise will abound. We will get to the brink. When those storms arise, we have the same charge and promise. Indeed, we have more than enough promises to keep us going in the Bible. If He did it for Joshua, He is able to do it for us as long as we remain strong and courageous, fixing our eyes on Him and His word.

Jesus Christ never changes! He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (CEV)

Image credit: Blue Pea Pod

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December 24, 2019 · 9:01 am

THROUGH THE STORM

Some of my closest friendships bonds till date are those formed in my secondary school days. We were few and tight, everybody knew everybody. Many years after, we still relieve the experiences and fond memories that we shared in those days. A lot of the character traits that have helped us stay above board many years down the line were instilled into us in those days by our wonderful teachers and a Principal like no other. In its first year of establishment, students in three different grades were introduced at the same time. My set was the lowest of the three. We experienced a lot of hardship in those early days because of non-existent basic infrastructure. Hurricane lanterns were essential commodities because we needed them for illumination in the night. The term ‘midnight candle’ was very real to us. To get potable water, we all had to take turns at the only hand pump in the school…that was really an experience because sometimes you could exert a lot of energy in pumping the water and you will be blessed with only a few drops of water. Even though we faced all these hardships and more, we always looked forward to returning to school at the end of each school holiday period. During those days, the experience was unmatched by any other and the people we were with made everything all the more worth the while.

When there’s a greater cause, the temporary pain and struggles are greatly diminished and become insignificant in the scheme of things – we only need to keep our eyes on that ‘greater cause’. The road to where we are headed may be filled with bumps, potholes and dark patches, but we can always count on the grace of God to abound in our weakest moments. His promises are sure and steadfast. He said:

  “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.” Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

Remembering these unfailing promises as well as past victories will help us keep our heads above the storms when they come. We brave the storms with joy just like Habakkuk testified.

“Fig trees may no longer bloom, or vineyards produce grapes; olive trees may be fruitless, and harvest time a failure; sheep pens may be empty, and cattle stalls vacant but I will still celebrate because the LORD God is my Savior.” Habakkuk 3:17-18 (CEV)

                      Image result for ship in the storm"

When we are in the middle of those stormy days, it’s difficult to steady our ship, the gust often obscures our vision and makes it hard for us to see far enough and we can’t perceive what God is doing. In those times, these lines of the song – Way Maker by Sinach – are very instructive:

“Even when I don’t see it, You’re working                                                                                 Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working                                                                                      You never stop, You never stop working”

We will work hard, we will do everything that we need to do, we will pray hard and we will wait with joy. This ties in nicely with a piece I wrote in the past: WHILE WAITING…

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May 26, 2013 · 9:17 pm

F A I T H

Let’s just imagine that the setting is one of the consulting rooms of a renowned specialist hospital, and the main actor is one of the best doctors around. After checking the vital signs and listening to the symptoms that are presented, he arrives at the conclusion that the patient is suffering from Angina pectoris  and he goes on to explain that this is chest pain due to ischemia of the heart muscle,  generally due to obstruction or spasm of the coronary arteries.

9 out of 10 times, we may not understand all the high sounding words that doctors use, but we believe them and take their prescriptions seriously. We just believe that doctors are always right and we don’t challenge their conclusions. Now that is what I call FAITH.  We just take their words for it. I got this idea of faith recently at a Bible teaching meeting I attended.

The truth is that the doctor is human and is also fallible. However, we have a Father, who made the doctor and He is also Almighty. He has never failed in fulfilling His promises and He can never fail. It is not just possible for Him to fail. Yet we don’t find it very easy to take Him by His word. …Oh what things we often forfeit…

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Putting all these together, I can come up with another definition of faith, which is: Believing God’s word just the way He said it, without thinking about how possible it would be for Him to fulfil it. Abraham possibly had this definition in mind when he was going to sacrifice Isaac. He remembered that God promised him saying:

“…Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Heb 11: 18 (NLT)

So, Abraham was not bothered about losing his only son. God made a promise to him and he was sure that God would keep His word. It did not have to make sense to him, but there was no way he was going to doubt God.

Is this kind of faith still available?

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