Definitiveness of God’s promises
Martha Olawale
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:2
With a history of fulfilling His promises to not just us but generations of believers before, taking God at His Word should be a no-brainer. However, we are guilty of allowing our humanity to cloud the definitiveness of God’s promises. If God says so, it is, but because that sounds too simple to be true, our brokenness deceives us into embracing the limitations of our mortal minds, denying us the ‘rest of trust.’
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man that He should lie.” He operates in truth because He defines Truth. If we believe in what God says, it should shape our desires, hopes, and expectations. But because it seems impossible to feel rest in the storm, have joy in pain, or be calm in an uproar, we settle for what the devil says instead of God’s Word, which promises peace and rest both on the mountain and in the valley. God’s peace is not contingent or dependent on what our situations look like; how we see our situations depends on how we see God.
As I look back at some of the tight corners that God has pulled me out of, I can testify that indeed, the peace that God gives surpasses any human understanding. At the end of each road, when I look back and see the insurmountable obstacles I leave behind, I know that only God could have gotten me over them.
Who we are looking at determines what we see, and where we are looking from determines how we see. If you focus on God, you’ll see light, hope, joy, peace, love, and assurance because when you see Him in the storm, you will see beyond the fog. If you focus on the enemy, you’ll be searching in the dark and knocking on the wrong doors.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” We must align our anticipation with God’s promises, not our fear. We must zero in on who God is, not the size of our challenges, and think Heaven, not hell. The siege will end, but God won’t; hold fast to the peace God gives.
