Believing God’s Promises, One Bite at a Time

Little bites. That’s all I could take when food was placed before me as a young child.  Whether we’re talking about baked lima beans, stringy okra, or baked fish with bones, I frown thinking about those days.

The days when we were told, “Finish everything on your plate!”

I found if I took little nibbles, I had a chance. Too much of a bad taste in my mouth gagged me.

Maybe changing my thinking is the same. Maybe I can do it one thought at a time. I know revamping all the negativity in one fell swoop doesn’t work. Believe me, I’ve tried.

So, maybe I can start with one thought. One nagging thought that strips my confidence, “you can’t do this”.

Today I will see myself worthy of encouragement. When God wrote his word, he did not exclude me, but I’ve felt excluded, until now.

It’s funny, but I have no problem believing verses pointing out I’m a sinner. But when verses mention God’s promises, I look at them just wishing they were mine.

Could the reason be the broken promises that litter my life? Where other people let me down?

It’s one thing for a person to make you a promise, and quite different when it’s God. Numbers 23:19 says:

“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

God keeps his promises. I need to engrave that on my mind. And when I start faltering, I will remind myself what God promised. I am not the exception.

I used to believe God’s promises applied to me. But, somewhere along the way that changed. Maybe it happened when God’s timing didn’t match my expectations, or when I received a couple of “no’s” from him. Satan would whisper, “See, it’s not happening. God isn’t going to do what you thought. He doesn’t love you.”

Believing Satan’s whispers became easier than believing God’s truth.

But there’s always hope. I’m glad every day is brand new. God flips open his drawing pad, and, folding up the darkness, he sketches a sunrise with just the right amount of color. No two days are the same because our creator’s mind is exhaustive. He will never tire of creating beauty.

As he adds some burnt sienna to a sunset, he also works on us. Opening his grace bank he dispenses grace to his children, missing no one. We each receive the amount of grace the day requires. He never guesses, he knows. God even tucks hope into our day. Hope when our hearts are  discouraged. So we can keep going when things get difficult.

So, I’m ready to take my small bite of okra. To tackle one thought that prevents me from moving forward. To believe God instead of believing my fickle feelings which take me all over the place, like a balloon that gets away from you before you can tie it. I want to be led by someone who knows me. Someone always looking out for my best interests. I want to be led by God.

What would happen if we took God’s promises one at a time and started believing them? And when we struggled, we made up our minds his promises do apply to us. I wonder how our lives would be changed.

I’m ready to tackle one promise – the one I’ll chew on today is Hebrews 13:5-6, where God says, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you, So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”

Why this one? Because in my life, a lot of people have left, making it hard for me to believe that God won’t do the same one day.

Believing that God will never leave me would drench my deepest parts with peace. And when Satan whispers, “You’re alone, no one cares.”

I can respond, “Satan, you’re a liar. My God doesn’t lie.”

Yes, that truth is worth chewing on not only today, but for always. To know regardless of my feelings, God loves me enough to never stand back.

That is a meal in itself. I’ll have seconds please.

Check out an earlier post by Anne here.