Trusting God at His word

God is not a man, that he should lie,nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)

So over the past few weeks in our Bible study at church, we've been reviewing the Bible to show that it's one continuous "story" and not a block of stories. A lot of the books are intertwined and it's easy to see the progression from the Old Testament into the New. We have completed the book of Genesis and in just that book alone, we learn that we can trust the Lord at His word. As the scripture above says, He is not a man to lie and He won't change His mind - if He makes a promise to you, you can guarantee that He will fulfill it.

As we went through the book of Genesis, just looking at the lives of Abraham and Isaac (the son of the promise God made to Abram and Sarai) brought this strongly to me. Remember that Abram was "old" as we would consider it in these days when the Lord told Him that a servant would not be his heir and his descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15). Now, God is able to bring all these things to pass without our assistance, but we are always looking for a way to "help God out". So what did Abram and Sarai do? Sarai offered her servant girl, Hagar, to be her "surrogate" to bring God's promise to pass (Genesis 16). Abram was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. It was when Abram was 99 that God changed his name to Abraham and his wife's name to Sarah and told him that Isaac would be born to them the following year, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah, 90! (Genesis 17). Now, I am not entirely sure at what age Abraham was when God first gave him the promise, but Ishmael was 14 years old when Isaac was born. I want to point out to you that Ishmael became the father of the Arabs - Isaac, the father of the Jews. When we try to help God out in getting the promises He made to us fulfilled, there are repercussions!

Now, when Isaac got married to Rebekah, he was 40 years old (Genesis 25:20) and it wasn't until 20 years later that Rebekah had his twin boys, Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:26). Remember that God's promises had to come to pass, but for 19 years, Rebekah probably bawled when that time of the month came. And when she finally recognized she was pregnant, Oh what joy!

No matter how long it takes, God's word will come true. Just continue to pray, continue to petition the Lord. "God does nothing but in answer to prayer." John Wesley

These 2 stories encourage me to not give up on the promises that I believe God has made to myself and my family. He cannot lie and His words will not come back to Him void. So, I will put my trust in Him, I will believe what He says. When I feel like giving up, I will remember the lives of these men and their wives and remember that God has not forgotten me.

If it didn't happen to me...

Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a
harvest if we do not give up. (NIV)

This was the word the Lord gave to my sister for Aaron and I on Friday. I saw her email at 5:15 in the morning as I prepared to drop off Aaron at the train station for his morning commute. Her encouraging email gave me such a buoyancy and I felt very light in my spirit that morning. I just didn't know the incredible blessing the Lord had in store for me later that morning.

As I gave Aaron a kiss and proceeded to head back for home to complete my "getting ready" routine, I had a divine appointment. My window was down, which is not typical as I still had my satin bonnet on my head as I literally got out of bed, made breakfast and went to the train station, so I was in no way "presentable". A number of people had just disembarked from the Broward Transit bus and proceeded to the Tri-Rail station to take their train to their various destinations. A number of people walked by me, but 1 gentleman stopped to let me proceed on to the roadway to begin my trek home. I told him to go ahead and cross, I just wasn't feeling rushed to get home. Once he got on the other side, he thanked me and began to tell me that he must be in a state of confusion that morning. He began to tell me that he was walking from home and he thought he had $10 in his pocket to take the train that morning, but alas, he had left the money in his other trousers at home. He just started his job that week and felt he couldn't afford to be late, which would happen if he went home and he didn't know what to do. I felt prompted to help as I heard the man calling out for Jesus to help him. I had just taken money out of the ATM the night before and knew I had $10 that I had just thrown in my purse that I would not have need of that day. I called him over and after searching for a few minutes, finally located the money. I gave it to him saying that I want him to remember that the Lord would provide. Oh, how he blessed me - may your coffers never be empty, may the Lord always provide for you...His words brought tears to my eyes and also to his. The train was about to arrive and I bid my Nigerian friend, John farewell (we had introduced ourselves to each other).

I drove off just praising God and thanking Him for giving me the opportunity to bless my brother in Christ. I declared to the Lord, that I knew if I didn't give him the money that it would have come out of our bank account anyway because I believed the Lord would have sent him to Aaron.

I got home, took my shower and proceeded to get dressed. It's at this time that I recognized that Aaron had been trying to call me while I was still parked at the train station. I called him immediately hoping that he didn't forget something, only to realize that he was only "shooting the breeze". I began to tell him about my encounter with John. Before I could tell him that I gave him some money, Aaron said to me, "Did you give him $10?" My heart leapt because I began to think John was scamming people and asking for money - Lord forgive me. Before I could air that concern, Aaron tells me that he has my money back...WHAT!!!!!!! He begins to tell me that he saw John having issues with purchasing his ticket, so he paid for it for him. (Remember my prayer to the Lord? Scroll up if you forgot). He then tells me that John was sitting right in front of him on the train. What are the odds that this man would be helped by my husband and I within minutes of me meeting him? While I was on the phone with him, Aaron asked John about his encounter with me and then tells John that I was his wife. Oh how he blessed us both again.

Later that evening, Aaron told me that though he had received the money from me, he still would not have had enough to get the round trip train ticket; he needed $10.68. He also gave the $10 back to John because we were unsure if he had lunch for the day.

As much as we were able to bless John, he blessed us so much more. He actually called Aaron's phone on Saturday and prayed another prayer for blessing for us both. A friend reminded me of this scripture: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have
entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

But do you want to know something else, when I returned to the train station to get my own train to work, I opened my devotional for that day. Guess what the scripture was...yes, Galatians 6:9. What a confirmation for me that day!

You're all I want...

Draw me close to you, never let me go
I lay it all down again, to hear you say that I'm your friend
You are my desire, no one else will do
Cause nothing else could take your place
To feel the warmth of your embrace
Help me find a way
Bring me back to you.

You're all I want, you're all I've ever needed
You're all I want, help me know you are near.

This is one of my favorite worship songs and as much as I love my God, I don't know if that is coming from my heart and soul. Can I genuinely say that God is all I want, that He is all I ever needed? I want to be able to sing that song and have no wants for the things of this world. I want to genuinely know that God is truly ALL that I WANT, that God is ALL that I have EVER NEEDED! I want to get to the point where I have indeed sought first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). I want to seek His heart on whatever issue I face. I want to realize that if He never gives me children, that He is ALL that I have ever needed. I want to truly learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth, because that is truly the only way to serve Him.

My first time...

So last night, right before falling asleep, I wrote the entire introductory post for this blog in my head. Will I remember what it all said? Probably not, but oh, how profound it was...LOL.

So this is my first time ever doing a blog...yes, I'm a blog virgin. I guess I will start with why I decided to blog and it's purpose. I'm blogging, because I have a lot to say...LOL and I also wanted to share this journey that I am on. What journey you may ask? A journey to a more meaningful, lasting relationship with God.

A little about my relationship so far with my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I was raised in a family that believed in God, but we weren't avid church goers. I attended a Catholic school, so there I learned about Jesus and learned to love Him. I didn't give my life to him until right before my 19th birthday, at a church I attended with my friend and where I would meet my husband. Oh, how sweet the first love when you first give your life to Christ. I was on fire for God and wanted this relationship to grow by leaps and bounds...but then, I moved away and slid back into the world. I went off to college, and quickly got into the party atmosphere - I was in the clubs Thursday nights to Monday mornings. Doing things I shouldn't be doing and being in places I shouldn't be. But you know, through it all, God kept me. I remember one weekend, being in a nightclub with friends when there was a shooting. A friend who came with us, had a bullet hole in his pants at the end of the melee, but by the grace of God, he wasn't shot. If not for the grace of God, I could have died outside of the saving grace of my Saviour. I remember doing things that I am not proud of, but the Lord kept me and friends who did the same things, were caught and faced shame. He saved me from the embarassment. I did things that I have/will/may face consequences, but God is still good, because He has given me the opportunity to repent and return to Him. And it's for these reasons that I have named my blog, "I'm forever grateful"- because I am.

So, I'm on a journey to grow closer to God and to establish my own personal relationship with Him. Though I have known of Him for many years, I don't know Him the way I should. I want to learn to hear His voice, to obey Him when He speaks to me, to take Him at His word and to sense His presence. I want to grow in the spiritual gifts that He has given to me and to walk into the purpose that He has for my life. I hope you take this journey with me and that it's as fulfilling for you as I am sure it will be for me. Blessings on you!