Promises for the Hungry Heart – Week 19 (Update)

Welcome back! If you are just joining us, we are using the YouVersion Bible App to follow a devotional together. Read THIS POST to get all the information you need to join in and then you can read THIS MORNING’S POST to see the promises we are focusing on this week.  

I’ve come to realize that my favorite part of studying all these promises in the Bible is how many there are for us. As I read my Bible I’m drawn to all the absolutes that the authors use. God’s word doesn’t talk about “maybe, possibly, I’ll think about it” when it comes to His plans or His love. He uses “will, won’t, is” and so many other declarative statements. There is no doubting His promises – they are for real! And with that said, the promise I chose this week is… 

 

No trouble will “do you in”. Deliverance and salvation is sure! Psalm 91:14-16

 

Look at all the promises in these verses! 

  • I will rescue him
  • I will protect him
  • I will answer him
  • I will be with him in trouble
  • I will deliver him
  • and honor him
  • with long life I will satisfy him
  • show him my salvation

Eight promises in three little verses! And what does God want us to do? Love Him and call on Him. 

What trials are you facing right now? What are you struggling through in your life? Have you presented them to God? Have you called on Him?

Years ago, back when I was pregnant with our firstborn, our home needed a new roof. It was only going to last another year, maybe, and we had noticed significant ice build up during winter. There were some small spots that were beginning to leak into the attic. We knew we needed to get this taken care of quickly but we also had that whole poor, recent college grads, newlyweds, about to become parents thing going on. 

We found a contractor from a personal recommendation and contacted him. He came out to our house and after some measurements and calculations gave us an estimate. It was about the same as what we expected to pay so we agreed. He asked for half down and half when it was done. We didn’t have that kind of cash ready but our parents were both willing to loan us a small amount to make the down payment. No problem. 

Except there was a problem. The guy took our money and then began dodging our calls. He had already cashed the check by the time we realized we weren’t going to get our roof. Weeks went by and if we did get a hold of him, usually by using someone else’s phone so he’d actually pick up, we’d get answers like, “I’m swamped right now but I’ve got you on the books,” or “The last job took longer than expected but I’ll call you this weekend to set the start date.” and those never happened. 

We went to the police and learned we weren’t the first people this happened to in town. But we were the lucky ones. Others had terrible jobs done and needed to pay a new contractor to fix it. One had their roof removed and then the guy skipped out! Yikes! 

All during this you can imagine the emotions we were feeling. Anger over this man’s betrayal, grief for the money lost, scared for the safety of our home, and worry over how we could get it done before the baby was born and winter came again. But we called on God. We turned our problem over to Him and sought His guidance and provision. 

Our parents were obviously understanding and let us pay them back when we could. Our church family came along side us and with the help of family got our roof done in a matter of days, with only the cost of materials plus some meals we provided. 

I can’t even begin to imagine how lost we would have felt if we hadn’t turned our problems to God, if we hadn’t called on Him. Just look at how he delivered on some of the promises in the very verses we are looking at:

  • He rescued us from financial trouble when the contractor stole our down payment
  • He protected us by not allowing the contractor to begin his work and then take off or do a terrible job on the roof before bolting
  • He answered our prayers for a way to get the roof done in a hurry and at a price we could afford
  • We felt His presence and peace through the whole trial 
  • He delivered us from the problem by providing amazing church friends and family that were willing to help us out in our time of need

Wow! And I could probably keep breaking it down to find even more ways that God fulfilled his promises to us in this situation. It was not a fun experience, by any means, but it is a powerful testimony of God’s grace and love to those that love and trust Him. We could have panicked and started taking out real loans to pay for a new company or lawyers to go after the original contractor but we felt peace about letting the situation go and following a different path. We placed our troubles at the Lord’s feet and trusted He would provide – and He did!

Father God, what an amazing provider you are! Thank you for the multitude of promises in your word and that you keep every single one. Thank you for your deliverance and grace in times of need. Lord, I pray that those that are struggling with hurts or trials would approach you with a trusting heart. I pray that they would cling to the promises in these verses and proclaim them over their lives. I ask that they would see each of these promises fulfilled. In Jesus name, Amen. 

 

Do you have a story of God’s protection during a trial? How do you find yourself acting when times get hard? Do you try to fix it yourself first or do you approach God first?

 

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