PSALM 37
Ihavebeenyoung, andnowamold; yet haveI not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM GOD IN THE FUTURE
I was walking along the street tonight and this verse came to mind, I had not been planning to write a new year’s devotional, but here it is.
I am a very blessed man, I have a beautiful family, my wife, daughter and new son in law are my treasures.
Although I have so many blessings, I still have pangs of hurt within my heart, for long stages of my life, especially those years between the ages of 25 to 42 I wasted, due to my own arrogance, sin and disobedience. These were the best years of my life, wasted, but God has restored all these years.
But God is gracious and every year life gets better and better, so as we enter another new year, what can we expect of God.
The first thing we can be sure of is God’s forgiveness and restoration if we are truly repentant, we can be sure that he will forgive us, if we are truly sorry.
This is what we can expect from God, these verses say this:
1 John 1
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 32
5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Psalm 103
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
The second thing is God’s grace, now grace is unmerited favour, we do not deserve it. We have God’s grace through salvation, but we also have God’s grace through all the daily situations of life
Paul went through difficulties, but God’s grace was enough, in 2 Corinthians 12 it says this:
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Thirdly, we can be sure of God’s faithfulness. Even when we stray and are not faithful to Him, he always is to us. Every day and in every way, he is faithful, he cannot deny himself.
Again this is such reassurance to us, look at these verses.
Lamentations 3
22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Psalm 89
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
1 Thessalonians 5:24
24 Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
I am amazed continually about the faithfulness of God, despite my wanderings. If I was him, I would of just said ” I’m tired of all his rubbish, I’m walking away’, but amazingly he doesn’t.
Fourthly, we can be sure that the promises of God will stand, we have so many precious promises that stand the test of time.
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
These promises give us so much confidence, these promises are given by the one, who cannot and will not even lie. His promises to us are constant, consistent and complete.
Fifthly, God’s power is unchanged. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that brought the world into existence and the same power that parted the red sea. This same dynamic power lives in us, through the Precious Holy Spirit, isn’t that amazing.
He is still the same in his power to save, he is the only one, who can save and transform individuals, communities and countries. He can all transform people, all we have to do is to proclaim that Jesus is Saviour and Lord
Wherefore he is able also tosavethem totheuttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliverus from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
God through Jesus and the working of the holy Spirit, is the only way to salvation, God is also powerful to deliver the believer, the other so called God’s cannot help.
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lorddelivered me.
Sixthly, God is the only one who can and does answer prayer, note the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18, the prophets of Baal cried out to their so called Gods, this is still the case today, people are crying out to their God’s of materialism etc.
1 Kings 18
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
God answers our prayers, we can be sure of this:
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Doesn’t it give you confidence that God will and does answer prayer? No one else does..amen
Seventhly, God is still is and will be sovereign, as we enter and go through this next year, we can be reassured that God is still on the throne.
Psalm 2
Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying,
Man may rage, things on the news may get worse, but we as Christians know that HE is still on the throne.
We know that all things are under his control and the world is working to HIS timeline.
We know that God is in control of our lives.
So we can be confident because we know that God is all these things.
That God is:
Forgiving
Gracious
Faithful
Promise keeping
Powerful
Prayer answering
Sovereign
All this should give us confidence, hope, comfort and strength, whatever we will go through this next year, we can rest assured, because God is who he is, he doesn’t change.
Hebrews 13
8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
We can rest on these great verses in Romans 8:
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Some of the people who are reading this, may not be here this time year next year, we all die, but if they are saved, they have the same confidence that Paul and Job had:
For I know that myredeemerliveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for IknowwhomIhavebelieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which Ihave committed unto him against that day.
Do you have the same confidence that Paul and Job had?
Time is very short
TRUST CHRIST TODAY
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in thedayofsalvation have I succoured thee: behold, nowisthe accepted time; behold, nowisthedayofsalvation.)
HEBREWS 2
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
As we go into this new year, we go with confidence, we go with boldness, because of who God is and what he has said.
2 Timothy 1:7
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Let us go forward with assurance and confidence, living with powerful spirit filled lives that challenged and change the world.
I FOR ONE CANNOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT GOD WILL DO IN THE FUTURE, WE GO WITH CONFIDENCE AND BOLDNESS SINGING
HALLELEJAH AND AMEN
God bless you
KK