“Promises like pie-crust, made to be broken.” So says Emily Dickenson. And, in this world of heartache and pain I think so often many of us wonder if God’s promises are like that. But they’re not. They are faithful—because HE is faithful. However, quite often those promises are not fulfilled in our timing. I, for one, like to put God in a box, but He is so much bigger than any box I could think up. “Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable His ways” (Rom. 11:33)!
Somewhere else He says, “For my ways are not your ways.” How often I wish they were and then I realize what a foolish thought that is. If His ways were MY ways, I would want “Justice.” I would want the bad guy to get the just punishment every time…until I realize that I am that “bad guy.” Then I’m so thankful that His ways aren’t like mine—because He is merciful. Praise God!
Back to His promises---“all the promises of God find their Yes in him [Christ]” (II Cor. 1:20). “Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it” (Psalm 119:140). How incredible! I want to know by seeing how His promises are fulfilled. I want to see how He works all things for good. I want to know by sight. He knows that, and He has been reminding me lately of a very fundamental lesson. I should have learned it long ago—but I’m very, very slow to learn. I’ve asked in my heart for Him to show me His reasons, plans, purposes for my life. He seemed to whisper to my heart: “Daughter, if I showed you my purposes so that you could trust me, you wouldn’t be trusting me. ‘Faith is hope in what is not seen’ (Heb. 11:1).” God has reminded me of this verse over the past couple months as I’ve struggled with “why’s.”
This morning, I read in Streams in the Desert: “It is faith without sight. When we can see, it is not faith, but reasoning…Let us go forth this day, not knowing, but trusting.” So, trust, faith, hope…these are the things with which I have been entrusted.
