The Lord’s Promises

Many times, I remind myself that my life here on earth is a journey of growing, healing, character building and perseverance. There is no quick fix to many of the challenges we face, but it’s always a comfort to know that we are not alone on this journey. 

There are often moments where I look back upon the years that have passed and where I can see how the Lord has brought healing, and how my mindset has changed in certain circumstances. With this comes the knowledge that I will experience many mountain-top moments in the years to come, but a major part of my time will be in the valley. For me, being in the valley refers to times when life is tough, when challenges arise, when hurt is experienced, or times when it feels as if nothing is changing in my everyday life – when the routine of daily life wears me down.

But mountain-top moments are wonderful and are those times when the Lord speaks truth into my life, and when I experience His victory over a situation or in someone’s life. It’s at those moments that I just know that I know that He is Lord!

A few weeks ago, the Lord reminded me of a verse that I have been praying over a specific situation for many years. And on that day, the Lord brought another step towards victory into the situation.

I realised then that we sometimes limit the Lord regarding the promises He gives us. We may have a scripture or a promise that we have been holding on to for many years, but we often develop a certain expectation of how the Lord will bring His promise into fruition. We have our own picture of the way things should work out. Then we attach them to the promise or scripture. In this way we limit the Lord, and our focus then slightly shifts to our expectation and not to His ways, which are far beyond anything we could imagine.

Another realisation I had was that the Lord’s promises often come in ‘layers’ and are like a journey of discovery. We want to receive our promise ‘tied up nicely in a box’, and then we think everything will be sorted. But the Lord’s ways are not our ways, and His ways are far higher than anything we can imagine. His promises often come over time - one surprise after the next, which all form part of the greater reward we have in Him. I believe He wants to surprise us in endless ways and that His promises hold more than we could ever imagine, think, or dream.