I am loving the Old Testament reading plan from youversion.com that I'm doing this year! I have been reading in both Genesis and Joshua every day and the parallels are incredible. I'm seeing the call of Abraham and his life following God in Genesis. And I'm seeing part of the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, through the people of Israel, under the leadership of Joshua as they take possession of the land (that God promised to Abraham) in the book of Joshua! It really is cool to see both the promise and fulfillment in each of these books every day! It's like looking backwards and forwards in time all at once!
Anyway, today's read was pretty neat and inspiring. Both books were in chapter 21. Genesis 21 starts out this way, "God visited Sarah exactly as He said He would; God did to Sarah what He promised: Sarah became pregnant and gave Abraham a son in his old age, and at the very time God had set."
Wow! Do you see God's incredible provision and promise there?! Everything happened, EXACTLY as He said it would! What He PROMISED came true! And at the very time God had SET! I like the use of that word, set. God didn't just tell Sarah what was going to happen, like he read it in some book of the future. He planned this date and time out before she was born. He knew it was going to happen because He planned it! He SET it in time! He controlled it! How awesome is that! Our God doesn't just know things because He was told, He knows them because He SET it in motion! Before Sarah was born God already knew her whole life story. He knew the year, month, day, minute and second she would give birth to Isaac. She had been barren and frustrated and angry and heart-sick all those years (she was an old, old lady!) and all along God had His plan in motion.
But don't get too excited yet! Look at how Joshua 21 ends: "Not one word failed from all the good words God spoke to the house of Israel. Everything came out right."
Couldn't you just swap these two stories one for the other?! With Israel not ONE WORD failed! Everything came out RIGHT! Why? Because the same God who knew Sarah's whole life story before she was born and SET the date for Isaac's birth makes sure that His WORD never fails! He's in control! He's got it all planned out and nothing or no one can interrupt, stop or twist His plan! He's GOD!
Sometimes I have to be reminded who God is and when I am, wow. It's incredible to think that the God who controlled the events of Sarah's life and knew her before she was... the same God who sees to it that not ONE WORD of His is left unfulfilled, the God who makes everything come out right, not only KNOWS me but LOVES me and wants what is best for me.
Whatever you are going through today, right now, know this. God's plan can not, will not, be left undone in your life. Not One Word of His is taken lightly. Your father may have lied to you, your boyfriend, your mother may not be there anymore, but God never fails. In Him, everything can come out right, even your life, if you let Him take control.
Notice one last thing, both in the lives of Abraham, Sarah and the Israelite nation, they were not perfect. Abraham lied, Sarah laughed at God's promise, and the Israelites could not stay on course. But God is not limited or controlled by the people who follow Him. Your life, your sin, to this point and in the future will not keep God from loving you anymore than it will keep God from using you if you give yourself to Him. Everything will work out exactly as He says and not One WORD of His will fail. You can count on that.
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