What God Has Promised

Good Morning Everyone,

Have you ever been unrealistic about life?
A dreamer, not reality based? I think many of us have,
especially early in life. We have grand dreams of
what our life will be like, and what we can accomplish
and sometimes along the way we lose those dreams
and don't seek to find them again. We let them
go because of trials we go through, hurt from people
or the cares of life.

But you see we cannot let the cares of life rob us of
our dreams and our hopes, they must become building
blocks where we become stronger, wiser, more
resilient. We face them with courage, learn from them,
and make the best of what we have each day.

Challenging? Very.
Rewarding? Absolutely.

God told us in this life we would have trials, but
he said not to be afraid for He had overcome this world.
So our sufficiency and hope is from him, NOT FROM
OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

Below is a poem from my favorite poet. When I was
a teen my dad bought me a book of her poems, and they
were so profound in concept to me, even then. She had
a depth to her understanding of God. At the end of
this devotion, I have enclosed a biography of her life
if you want to see what brought that spiritual depth and
understanding to her beautiful poems.

Here is one about what we can expect from life.


What God Has Promised

God has not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives thro’;

God has not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

God has not promised
We shall not know
Toil and temptation,
Trouble and woe;

He has not told us
We shall not bear
Many a burden,
Many a care.

But God has promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the laborer,
Light for the way,

Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

Annie Johnson Flint

My dear friend, no matter what you are going through
today, God is with you every moment. You can talk
to him about whatever is in your heart. You can
know He is your Father, who is watching out for you
around the clock for eternity and you can
REST IN THAT PROMISE AND HOPE.

What time I am afraid I will trust in thee.
Psalm 56:3

Trust in, cling to, rely on, hope in, rest in,
and be full of joy through God. He knows,
He cares, and He has the answers.

Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee.
Isaiah 26:3

Have a blessed day dear friends,

love
millie


Click here: Annie Johnson Flint's Biography
http://www.preceptaustin.org/annie_johnson_flint's_biography.htm



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It’s a Jungle Out There
by Max Lucado

The story is told of a man on an African safari deep in the jungle. The guide before him had a machete and was whacking away the tall weeds and thick underbrush. The traveler, wearied and hot, asked in frustration, “Where are we? Do you know where you are taking me? Where is the path?!” The seasoned guide stopped and looked back at the man and replied, “I am the path.”

We ask the same questions, don’t we? We ask God, “Where are you taking me? Where is the path?” And he, like the guide, doesn’t tell us. Oh, he may give us a hint or two, but that’s all. If he did, would we understand? Would we comprehend our location? No, like the traveler, we are unacquainted with this jungle. So rather than give us an answer, Jesus gives us a far greater gift. He gives us himself.

Does he remove the jungle? No, the vegetation is still thick.

Does he purge the predators? No, danger still lurks.

Jesus doesn’t give hope by changing the jungle; he restores our hope by giving us himself. And he has promised to stay until the very end. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20 NIV).

We need that reminder. We all need that reminder. For all of us need hope.

Some of you don’t need it right now. Your jungle has become a meadow and your journey a delight. If such is the case, congratulations. But remember—we do not know what tomorrow holds. We do not know where this road will lead. You may be one turn from a cemetery, from a hospital bed, from an empty house. You may be a bend in the road from a jungle.

And though you don’t need your hope restored today, you may tomorrow. And you need to know to whom to turn.

Or perhaps you do need hope today. You know you were not made for this place. You know you are not equipped. You want someone to lead you out.

If so, call out for your Shepherd. He knows your voice. And he’s just waiting for your request.

From Traveling Light
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2001) Max Lucado