“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9a).
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10.
But if we’re honest, we don’t always believe that God’s presence and provision are sufficient for what we want or need. We look for His new mercies and we don’t see them, and His grace doesn’t seem to be available for the need at hand. Is God enough when—
- We’re tempted to sin or have already sinned;
- We’re lonely and have no one to talk to;
- We’re trying to make difficult decisions;
- We’re faced with unpleasant circumstances and things we can’t change;
- Those we love are struggling with mental or physical health issues;
- Life is hard and we’re tired of trying to hold things together.
We may believe the truths of Scripture in our heads, but don’t know how to grasp hold of them in daily life. I’d like to say I’ve found the solution, but I haven’t. I can only make a few suggestions that may sometimes help.
1) Study Scripture and memorize the promises God has made there, taking note of the context in which each was made.
2) Remember how God kept His promises to people in Scripture: Abraham, Moses, Joseph, the Israelites, Daniel, etc.
3) Pray those promises. “Lord, You said You would never leave me nor forsake me (Heb. 13:5), but I don’t sense Your presence. Let me see how You are at work today.”
4) Share the burden with a brother or sister in Christ (Gal. 6:2).
We know that God is always faithful to His word, but there are a lot of times in life when we have more questions than answers and we don’t know what God’s greater purposes may be. The fulfillment of some promises and the answers to some prayers may not be evident in this lifetime, but God’s purposes will always prevail. Our role is to grow in faith in Him. “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act” (Psalm 37:5).
“Not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you” (Josh. 23:14b).
© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
