Promises. We make them casually. But our good intentions often succumb to unexpected life turns. We meant to keep our promises but circumstances hindered us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
God\u2019s\npromises are reliable. This time of year, while looking forward to what the\ncoming year may bring, we also reflect on the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With\na flood of gratitude we remember all God has brought us through. We\u2019ve trusted\nhim for tough stuff, and he never failed us. Never! We walked through hard\nplaces in suffocating fog. But we felt his presence and believed he guided our\nsteps. He\u2019s reliable like that. He always keeps his promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Didn\u2019t he say, \u201cI will\nnever leave you or forsake you\u201d?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Israelites\u2019 journey to\nthe land of promise encourages me. When God called Moses to go to Egypt and\nlead his people out of bondage, he made promises. I will go with you\u2026I will tell you what to say\u2026I will tell you what to\ndo.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n During the forty years they\nwandered in the wilderness because of their unbelief, God kept his word. He\ndidn\u2019t leave them. He didn\u2019t forsake them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When\nthe time came to turn over the leadership reins, Moses said to Joshua, \u201c\u2026Be\nstrong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land\nwhich the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause\nthem to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be\nwith thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: Fear not, neither be\ndismayed\u201d (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nLord gave Joshua a promise. \u201cThere shall not any man be able to stand before thee\nall the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will\nnot fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this\npeople shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their\nfathers to give them\u201d (Joshua 1:5-6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n God kept his promises.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd the Lord gave unto\nIsrael all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they\npossessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about,\naccording to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of\nall their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their\nhand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto\nthe house of Israel; all came to pass\u201d (Joshua 21:43-45).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBlessed be the Lord, that\nhath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there\nhath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand\nof Moses his servant\u201d (1 Kings 8:56).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his final address to the\nIsraelites, Joshua said, \u201c\u2026ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls,\nthat not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God\nspake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath\nfailed thereof\u201d (Joshua 23:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor he remembered his holy\npromise, and Abraham his servant. And he brought forth his people with joy, and\nhis chosen with gladness. And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they\ninherited the labour of the people; That they might observe his statutes, and\nkeep his laws. Praise ye the Lord.\u201d (Ps. 105:42-45).<\/p>\n\n\n\n God keeps his promises. Always.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing that is good enough\nfor me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you chosen a promise\nfor the year? This might be just what you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHave not I commanded thee? Be\nstrong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the\nLord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest\u201d (Joshua 1:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Would you comment about a\npromise God gave you and kept? Please share this post with our friend list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Promises. We make them casually. But our good intentions often succumb to unexpected life turns. We meant to keep our promises but circumstances hindered us. God\u2019s promises are reliable. This time of year, while looking forward to what the coming year may bring, we also reflect on the past. With a flood of gratitude we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[266,9,267,264,263,262,261,113,260,265],"class_list":["post-818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-courage","tag-dianne-barker","tag-dont-be-afraid","tag-i-will-never-forsake-you","tag-i-will-never-leave-you","tag-israelites","tag-joshua","tag-moses","tag-promises-of-god-are-reliable-always-and-forever","tag-strong"],"yoast_head":"\n