Grasping the Promises

 “The God who created you is the same God who is a covenant-keeping and promise-fulfilling God. Just as the Lord showed Himself faithful to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He is more than able to bring about His plan for your life. You can trust Him to keep His Word to you.” The Study Bible for Women, Genesis… Written on My Heart Commentary, p. 67

It wasn’t until I was 45 years old that I began studying the Bible in depth. Fourteen years later I must say that while I love all the books of the Bible, Genesis marches in front as the leader. It isn’t the fact that it is the beginning of the Bible, rather because it is the book that puts God’s character and motivation right up front. Genesis is an account of many beginnings, and a multitude of promises to ordinary people whom God deeply and completely loves. Genesis displays stories moving from emptiness to fullness, darkness to light, good to evil, and callings to followings. If you have ever wondered whether God is concerned with the small details of your life, read Genesis. If you have ever wondered whether your deepest longing will ever become realized, read Genesis. If you want a track record of God’s faithfulness throughout the span of His children’s lives, read Genesis. And if you have ever doubted that God can mend broken family relationships into joyous reconciliations, you must read Genesis.Story after story God’s will trumps man’s plans. Detail after detail builds a life of faith, hope and purpose all orchestrated by God in His perfect wisdom and abiding love for us.

Like me, I’m sure you have dreams to be realized, prayers to be answered, and perhaps relationships to be reconciled. God is a God of reconciliation who has given us a ministry of reconciliation through the cross. ‘God’s calling is deeper than our plans, our dreams, and even our loves. I thank God for the opportunities He’s given me to choose Him and His ways over my personal desires, though it has never come easily…And where certain longings remain unmet, He is forging my faith and teaching me to live contently in the waiting…I want to live a life fueled by a faith than sees past the grave, grasping the promises that live beyond it.’ Finding God Faithful, Kelly Minter, p. 193-194