“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
Blessed God, Creator and Sustainer of life, we enter Your courts with grateful hearts to say thank You Lord, for all that You have done for us, and all that You have planned for us. May we always have an attitude of gratitude, and never take our blessings for granted. Now, please speak to our hearts, and guide us into all truth as we study Your word. This I pray in the holy name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Today I want us to keep harvesting some thoughts from the topic of God’s faithfulness in keeping His promises. I truly believe that one of the most effective ways of helping our children to take God at His word, and believe His promises, is by keeping our promises to them. In so doing we leave them a wonderful legacy! Without being aware of it, we are making it easier for them to learn to trust God.
The first picture our children receive of God, I believe, is what they see in us. Because of this it is so important that we, as parents, if no one else in the whole wide world – love them unconditionally, forgive them freely, and guide them gently. We may not feel like being (not acting) this way all of the time, and we may not always be victorious, but every effort we put forth will be well worth it, not only for time, but for eternity!
I think of the example of three youth whose non-compromising faithfulness to God, and the results, prove that they had learned to take God at His word, and to be faithful in all things and under all circumstances. One of God’s promises, that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, believed, and proved to be true, was:
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2, emphasis supplied).
They literally experienced the fulfillment of this promise. God, in His foreknowledge makes a way of escape for His children in every situation. The flames could not burn them, for they did not enter that furnace alone. “And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:23). God’s promise was, and is, I will be with you. And He was with His children! Listen to the king’s shout of astonishment:
” ‘ “Look!” he answered, ‘ “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” ‘ “(25, emphasis supplied). Obviously, he had never seen the Son of God. But of one thing he was sure, never had he seen a mortal like this one! This had to be a divine being. Most likely the One these captive boys believe in! And he was right! Read the entire chapter 3 of Daniel.
“There has not failed one of [God’s] good promise” in all of these years, and they never will! You and I can trust God!