Standing on the Promises

I find it interesting that the word I chose in January for 2020 was “Standing”.  For the last few weeks I have been challenged to stand in the face of some very real cares and worries.

It occurred to me that standing against adversity requires you to plant your feet and square your shoulders. While your stance is important, your foundation plays an even greater role. Planting your feet on marbles is not nearly as effective as solid ground.

The foundation for my mental and emotional stance always comes back to God’s promises. So after a particularly difficult day recently, I focused my bible study on what God says he will always be. I found four promises that resonated with me in our current situation and the resulting ways I can stand firm in His foundation.

1) God will always be with me.
          God says so many times that he will never leave nor forsake me. He is forever at my side, fighting with and for me. He doesn’t say I will never experience hard things, but that in them He is with me and will bring me through them. In the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, God didn’t extinguish the furnace. He stood in the furnace with them.
Joshua 1:9
Isaiah 43:2
Deuteronomy 31:8
              Because of this I can stand and not despair.

2) God will always be in control.
          While there isn’t one bible verse that says this truth in a simple quotable way, there are many times when God has demonstrated his power. Nothing happens that he hasn’t decided needed to happen. He is sovereign and our finite minds can not even grasp the enormity of what that means.
Isaiah 14:24
Proverbs 19:21
Daniel 2:21
            Because of this I can stand and not fear.

3) God will always be good.
            This promise is so hard for us to believe because oftentimes what is happening to us doesn’t feel good. It feels hard, sorrowful, painful, and to us those are an indication of a break. Broken equals bad in our mindset. Broken is good to God because He knows the end of the story. Mended is so much more beautiful to Him.
1 Chronicles 16:34
Psalm 34:8
Nahum 1:7
          Because of this I can stand and not doubt.

4) God will always be victorious.
          I love this promise! In the end, when all is said and done, God is the winner! He has all the power and all the authority because He created it all.
Romans 8:37-39
John 16:33
1 John 5:4
         Because of this I can stand and I will not fail.

So many more promises of God are in the bible. I would encourage you to seek them out and discover your own way to stand in Him.