Devotionals for the Heart: God will always keep all of His promises

God is Faithful to Keep His Promises
A devotional by Sarah Cole

“And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”—Hebrews 11:11-12 (NIV)

Do you ever feel like a kid beneath the Christmas tree, anxious to open God’s gifts right now?

The week before Christmas, I would help my father wrap gifts while my mother stood in the kitchen making chocolate fudge candy. Dad crooned to Bing Crosby as he transformed boring brown boxes into colorful masterpieces. I sat beneath the tree, desperate to see their contents.

We are a society caught between wanting everything now and yet having to wait for it. We wait for our morning coffee to heat up, rush hour to clear up, the weather to warm up, and our bodies to shape up. But the more significant challenge is waiting for God to fulfill our deepest longings.

If you’ve been waiting for what feels like an eternity, find solace in knowing God’s delay is rooted in His perfect judgment and goodness. His plan may be mysterious, but His love for you is not. True contentment comes not from having everything we want but from recognizing that Jesus Christ is enough—He is our ultimate source of joy and our reason for living.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) is a powerful reminder to trust Him with all our hearts, acknowledging His perfect timing and wisdom. This Bible verse tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Feeling entitled robs us of joy and peace and fuels a never-ending struggle to align life with our wishes. I don’t know about you, but I find that exhausting!

If you’re tired of waiting and tempted to seize control, you’re not alone. Even heroes of the faith, like Abraham, took matters into their own hands when they thought God wasn’t moving fast enough (Genesis 16:1-4).

Trusting God means knowing at this moment you are precisely where you’re supposed to be. Like Sarah, who had unwavering faith amid uncertainty, you can trust Him to fulfill His promises, even if they seem far-fetched.

Friend, as hard as it is to wait, let God use this season to prepare you for your promised land. Take time to enjoy the gift of today because tomorrow’s gifts aren’t meant to be opened yet.

Let’s Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father,
When my waiting season feels heavy, equip me to enjoy today as I trust You with my tomorrows. When doubts fill my mind, remind me that Your plans for me will unfold perfectly, as I trust Your timing above mine. I’m grateful You love me enough to ensure all the pieces fall into place. When I can’t see the complete picture, I’m confident that the day I open Your gifts, I will be ready to enjoy them. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Promises” (feat. Joe L Barnes & Naomi Raine) | Maverick City Music | TRIBL. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Sarah Cole’s interest in writing began in grade school when her poem was published in the local paper. Since then, she has written for her college newspaper and two community newspapers where she wrote restaurant reviews and articles for their ‘best of’ spread. 

Her experience as an administrator in the marketing field gave her the opportunity to write ads for a local business journal.

After a 20-year detour and a three-year season of adversity, God reignited her passion to write. Two divine appointments later, the short story she wrote about her father appeared in the St. Paul Almanac, and a short story about her cocker spaniel Gigi was published in Mysterious Ways by Guideposts. She believes her adversity was worth the lessons God taught her.

Sarah's devotionals have been published in David C. Cook’s The Quiet Hour and Devotions, The Secret Place by Judson Press, and Pray a Word a Day by Guideposts. Her short story will be featured in an upcoming book, Too Amazing For Coincidence, also to be published by Guideposts. To this day, Sarah smiles, pinches herself and gives God all the glory.

When she's not writing, she's enjoying her hobbies that include dog sitting, watching cooking shows and taking day trips.

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Connect with Sarah:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smittyc65
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@SarahCo45835279
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.cole.52

Devotionals for the Heart: Remember

Remember to Remember
A devotional by Amanda Wen

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live.” 
– Deuteronomy 4:9 (NIV)

This verse contains some of Moses’ final words to the Israelites, the people he’d led out of slavery in Egypt and through four decades of wandering in the desert.

He spoke them as they were about to cross the Jordan River into the land God had promised to give their ancestors centuries before. And of all the things he urged them to do, one of the last and most crucial was to remember.

Remember the plagues God brought on the Egyptians, and how you yourselves did not suffer the same effects.

Remember how God delivered you out of slavery in dramatic fashion, plundering the Egyptians as you went.

Remember how God parted the sea and drowned the Egyptian army as they came after you.

Remember the many times God came through for you.

Why would Moses give this advice? Because he knew human nature.

Moses knew how easy it is to forget God’s miracles in the heat of stressful circumstances. He knew how soon songs of celebration would turn to questions and complaints, how quickly Israel went from rejoicing in God’s miraculous deliverance to griping about the lack of variety in their diet.

I read these accounts, and I think, “Seriously? They watched God part an ocean for them, but then wished they were back in chains in Egypt?”

But if I look at my own responses to circumstances that are less than my version of ideal, I ask the same questions. “Where are you, God? When are you going to intervene on my behalf? Or do you plan to abandon me? Did you bring me this far only to bring me this far?”

The key to avoiding the vicious cycle of complaint is to remember God’s faithfulness. Remember the times when He’s moved mountains, when He’s come through in ways only He can.

Sometimes these are times of enormous blessing, like when He led me to attend a Boston Red Sox watch party where I met the man who would become my husband. Or when He provided the means and the guidance for us to purchase our home. Or when He nudged me to enter a writing contest where one of the final judges was the literary agent who later signed me as her client.

But frequently, the times God has come through have been in times of great trial.

Like our car accident twelve years ago, where He protected us from significant physical injury and provided professionals to guide us through the longer-term psychological trauma. How, as part of the healing process from that accident, I began writing fiction as a way to cope. How my cello, which was severely damaged in the collision, sounded even better once it was repaired.

That accident was unpleasant, to put it mildly. But God has brought—and is still bringing—so much good from it.

My family right now is going through a very difficult season. It’s tempting to fall into the trap of self-pity, to wallow and wonder why God allows His children to struggle. To wonder if this is finally the time God leaves us hanging.

But remembering His past faithfulness and knowing His character does not change, I’m confident He’ll come through yet again. Remember that He’ll bring beauty from these wounds and scars just as He did before, just as He always does.

During difficult times when you can’t see God at work, look back at the times He’s blessed you. Look back on the difficulties He’s already brought you through.

Looking back and remembering to remember God’s Providence in your life story thus far, will enable you to move forward.

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Author Bio:

Amanda Wen is an award-winning writer of contemporary inspirational romance and split-time women’s fiction. 

A first place winner in the 2017 Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest, she also placed first in the 2017 Phoenix Rattler Contest, the 2017 Great Expectations Contest, and the 2016 ACFW First Impressions Contest, among others. In addition, she was a finalist in the 2018 ACFW Genesis Contest.

Amanda is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and regularly contributes author interviews for their Fiction Finder feature. She’s also been spotted onstage with the worship team at recent ACFW conferences. Amanda is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

In addition to her writing, Amanda maintains an active and rewarding career as a freelance cellist, frequently performing with symphony orchestras, string quartets, and her church’s worship team. She lives in the Midwest with her amazing husband and their three adorable and hilarious Wenlets.

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Connect with Amanda:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authoramandawen
Twitter: www.twitter.com/authoramandawen
Instagram: www.instagram.com/authoramandawen
Website: www.amandawen.com

Devotionals for the Heart: Thoughts on Time and Eternity

An Intersection of Time and Eternity
A devotional by Dana McNeely

Note: This is the fourth post in a series on the prophet Elijah. To read previous posts, click the titles: Love in the Time of Drought, In the Waiting Room, and A Widow, a Prophet, and Provision from God.

After Elijah reached Zarephath and found shelter with the widow and her son, they lived under God’s blessings. Though the drought worsened, the never-ending jug of oil and jar of meal nourished them. It would have been reasonable to expect the good times to continue.

However, some time later the widow’s son became ill. He grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (1 Kings 17:17-18 NIV)

I feel for this poor woman. One moment she ate the bread of life, the next she gagged on the stench of death. Anguished, she lashed out, but then secret guilt whispered. Did you come to remind me of my sin? Any mother would be devastated by her child’s death, but she’d already lost her husband. Now she was alone in the world.

I don’t know about you, but I want life to roll along smoothly. When it does, I often forget to thank God, taking everyday blessings for granted. But when trouble strikes, it’s easy to complain or blame others or myself.

I know this is unreasonable. We live in a fallen world, and God hasn’t promised immunity from its hardship, even to those who follow him. Think of Joseph, who ran from Potiphar’s wife but still ended up in prison. Or Daniel, who refused to quit praying and then faced lions.

Though I empathize with the widow’s reaction, what I find interesting is Elijah’s calm response to her remarks. Known for his somewhat hot temper, Elijah didn’t remind her of all he’d already done to help her and her son. In humility, he ignored her harsh words, and in faith, he took this problem to the Lord.

“Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!" (1 Kings 17:19-24 NIV)

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!"

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

I believe the Lord prepared the widow’s heart with a whisper before Elijah even arrived. She must have heard the truth about God’s love and claims on her life during the time the prophet lived with her and her son. Yes, she reacted out of pain and confusion when her son suddenly died. Such a response doesn’t mean she had no faith … only that it faltered. In quietly asking the widow to give him her son, Elijah allowed her time to quiet her soul and consider. And the Lord, in his mercy, ignored her outburst and looked on her heart, where a tiny spark of faith burned.

In an intersection of time and eternity, God reached down and touched the widow’s son, restoring him to life. Yes, he was still subject to a fallen world; he would grow old and die again. But now, more than ever before, he was his mother’s comfort and a blazing example of God’s mercy and miraculous power. If the widow’s faith in God was a spark before, it was a sturdy flame now.

Do you believe in miracles? When Paul met with Agrippa, the apostle asked, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead?" (Acts 26:8 KJV)

Have you ever experienced that which only God can do? Perhaps your miracle was as soft as a whisper to the heart or as earth-shattering an event that, even now, you can hardly bring yourself to speak of. An intersection of time and eternity.

I leave you with this final thought from the great Bible scholar A.W. Pink: “Bring into the scene the living God, and no matter how drastic and desperate be the situation, all difficulties a once disappear, for nothing is impossible to him.”

*For further reading: Elijah by A.W. PinkSaveSaveSaveSave

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Author Bio: 

Inspired by the Bible story of Elijah and the widow’s son, Dana McNeely wondered why the prophet had come to stay with these two. Who were they? What was their life, before? And how did the boy change after dying, seeing the other world … and coming back? 

Dana began research for her novel, “Rain,” which tells the story of the three-and-a-half-year drought from the boy’s perspective.

No stranger to drought, Dana lives in an Arizona oasis with her hubby the constant gardener, two good dogs, an antisocial cat, and migrating butterflies. She writes biblical fiction, cozy mysteries, and has written for magazines and newspapers. Her short story “Death in the Butterfly Garden” appears in SoWest: Killer Nights (2017).

Connect with Dana on Facebook, Twitter, or DanaMcNeely.com