365 Promises

[Hosanna]

Promise #245:
I give life and breath to all things.

Acts 17:24-25 (WEB)
24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, 25 neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things.

In today's promise, we read the Scripture passage where the Apostle Paul is speaking to some Greek philosophers on a place called Mars Hill. In this place of pagan worship, they had many false gods that they erected statues and monuments to.

Paul, being the relevant kind of guy that he was, stopped at a simple monument created for 'the unknown god'. It was there that Paul began to reveal some of the mysteries about who the 'unknown god' actually was. Paul went on to preach the good news to these philosophers and revealed that the unknown god was actually the only true God. I love how Paul creatively shared how God does not need to be worshiped through statues and idols because He is the very One that gives life and breath to all things!

The truth is that our God is not unknown and nameless. If we want to know what He is like, all we have to do is look at His Son, Jesus Christ. In John 14:9, Jesus says that anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the exact representation of the Father's being.

The wonderful news about today's promise is that the God and Father of all creation (Ephesians 4:6) continues to be very involved in everything He created. He is not distant and unconcerned, for every heart beat and every breath comes from His goodness.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #246:
You can rest in My love, for I have power to save you.

Zephaniah 3:17 (WEB)
Yahweh, your God, is in the midst of you, a mighty one who will save.
He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love.
He will rejoice over you with singing.

I know that I often say that many of the promises are my most favorite, but this is really one of my favorite Old Testament Bible passages. What a picture of God's intimate heart for His kids! He says that He lives right in the midst of us, that He is mighty to save us and that He rejoices over us with great joy and singing!

This is one of those amazing images in the Bible that speaks of a Father's delight for His children. I believe that the connotation here is that God is actually not able to contain Himself with the joy that He has for us. My prayer today is that each and every one of us would be able to let this image go deeper into our hearts than it has ever gone before.

God is excited over your life! He is so happy that He sings His love songs over you and me. Part of the promise of this one Bible verse is that because God really does love us and He has power to save us, we can rest in His love. We don't have to be afraid any longer. He is big, He is strong and He is mighty to save us! All we have to do is yield to His love today and rest in His arms.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #247:
My thoughts toward you outnumber the sand on the seashore.

Psalm 139:17-18 (WEB)
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum!
18 If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.

Have you ever tried to count the number of grains of sand there are on a seashore? While it might be technically possible to do, I think it is very close to the realm of impossible. There is simply too much sand to be able to even begin to count.

King David makes a declaration that the thoughts of God toward him literally outnumber the grains of sand on the seashore. Basically I think what David was saying was that God is continually thinking of him! Non stop... all the time!

If we try to comprehend this promise with our human understanding, we will short circuit for sure because it does not seem possible that God would be constantly thinking of us. I am so thankful that our Heavenly Father is not limited by our own human limitations! The truth is that He can do whatever He wants, however He wants to do it.

My prayer for each one of us today is that we would become more aware of the longing in our Papa's heart for us. He is thinking about you RIGHT NOW! And right now, and right now again! Isn't that amazing? The God of the universe cannot stop thinking about you and me! May this life-changing truth sink deep down into the depths of our heart and transform us more and more on the inside.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #248:
All the days of your life are written in My special book.

Psalm 139:16 (WEB)
Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written,
the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.

I like this Bible verse best from the NIV Bible which says... "your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (NIV) What an amazing promise! Before our body was even formed, the eyes of God were fixed upon us. Before we even breathed one breath, God had created a special book that contained each day of our lives.

In the ministry that God has called us to, we often hear that people struggle to feel like they belong in this world. If they were born out of an unplanned pregnancy, they might feel like their life was not intentionally planned. We have heard from many dear people that they have felt all of their lives that they were a mistake!

If you struggle with any of these feelings, it is my hope and prayer that this promise would settle once and for all the irrevocable truth that it was God Himself who planned your life before the foundation of the world. It was not your parents that ultimately planned your existence, but your loving Heavenly Father.

Every one of your days was written in His special book before one of them came to be! What attention to detail! What indescribable love! You were wanted by the Creator of the heavens and the earth and He has a plan to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a bright future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #249:
I will carry you in My arms just like a father carries his child.

Deuteronomy 1:31 (WEB)
and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you,
as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”

The NIV Bible says this verse this way... "There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." (NIV) This is one of those very clear pictures in the Old Testament of God's Fatherheart for the nation of Israel. I find it interesting that from God's perspective, He saw Himself as actually carrying each Israelite just like an earthly father would carry his son.

I wonder what that would have looked like in the eyes of God? Would God have been cradling Israel in His big strong arms? Would He have been lifting Israel up over His head so that the nation could sit on top of His shoulders? Perhaps there would be many ways for God to carry Israel, depending on their situation.

When they were grieving... When they were taking new territory... When they were afraid... God was always there to hold them and carry them through each season, whether they were even aware that He was holding them or not.

The truth is that no matter how difficult life gets, it is God who is carrying us through every adversity. We might not be aware of how close He is to us, but that does not change the reality that He is holding us very close all the days of our lives. May each one of us feel the warmth of His embrace today.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #250:
I will give you a double portion of your inheritance in exchange for your shame.

Isaiah 61:7 (WEB)
Instead of your shame you shall have double;
and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion:
therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be to them.

In the Hebrew tradition, the eldest son of the family would receive a double portion of the family's inheritance. So if I understand this correctly, if there were 5 heirs, then the inheritance would be divided 6 ways and the eldest son would get 2/6 of the inheritance which would be double the inheritance that his brothers and/or sisters received.

Isaiah 61 is a prophetic declaration of freedom pointing to the day when Jesus would come to the world and be the fulfillment of all the promises made in this amazing chapter of the Bible. You can read more about this in Luke 4:14-20 if you like. Isaiah declares that the coming Messiah will bring freedom to the captives, comfort for the grieving and beauty for ashes. He also declares that we will exchange our shame for a double portion of our inheritance!

Since the double portion belongs to the eldest son, we know that this promise is referring to us sharing in the inheritance of our elder brother, Jesus Christ. No longer do we need to carry the stigma of shame! God has made us heirs of His inheritance and joint heirs with Jesus (Romans 8:15-17).

May the reality of all that is proclaimed in Isaiah 61 become a tangible benefit in your life today. Instead of shame, you will receive a double portion of your inheritance!


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #251:
I made you alive in Jesus simply because I love you.

Ephesians 2:4-5 (WEB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved),

Today's promise is the very core of the gospel message. Because Father God is rich in mercy, He has loved us with a love that is immeasurable. He has set a value on each one of our lives that is beyond our comprehension. In His great kindness, God saw fit to make us alive in Jesus Christ even when we were His enemies, dead in our sin.

By the unmerited favor of our God and Father and by the sacrifice of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved from eternal separation from the Godhead. The motivation for such a great salvation is simply the love that God has for us. We don't know why He decided to love us and sacrifice all that He had to gain our love, we just know that He does.

My prayer is that not one of us would miss the incredible simplicity of God's heart for humanity. His motivation to save us was rooted and grounded in His love and great mercy. Period. He is not looking for servants, but sons and daughters. That is why Jesus died for each one of us. So that we all could be part of His family. May this Scripture promise cause us all to be in awe of the salvation that has been so freely given to each one of us.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #252:
I will forgive your sins and then forget them.

Hebrews 8:12 (WEB)
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness.
I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”

God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. He is all powerful, He is everywhere and He is all knowing. Yet the God who created the heavens and the earth with just the sound of His voice has decided to have a poor memory when it comes to our sin. In today's promise, God says that He will forgive all of our sins and then forget each of one of them.

The One who is limitless in every way, has chosen to intentionally forget every mistake, every failure, every time we have hurt Him because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I wonder if I actually live each day in the knowledge that God has forgiven me so completely that He can't even remember one time when I have sinned.

As Paul the Apostle said, "Do we keep on sinning that grace abound? God forbid!" However, if we allow the full weight of this promise to seep deep into our hearts, we won't be continually re-counting our sin over and over in our own minds (and perhaps in our prayers).

Because of our Father's great mercy, He chooses to forgive and then forget. Let us embrace the words of Paul in Philippians 3:12-14 today and choose to forget the things that God forgets...

12 Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (WEB)

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #254:
Reach out and you will touch Me for I am not far from you.

Acts 17:27 (WEB)
that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him
and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

The Apostle Paul was speaking to a bunch of Greek philosophers on Mars Hill in Athens when he made this statement. This Bible verse is part of a discourse where Paul addresses a statue to an 'unknown god' and proceeds to tell all the listeners who God really is. I really like this verse and the next verse in Paul's proclamation of the gospel in the NIV Bible...

Acts 17:27-28
27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' (NIV)

Paul tells these dear pagan folks that God is so close to them that they can actually just reach out and they can touch Him for 'in Him we live and move and have our being'. The truth is that the universe does not contain God, God contains the universe! In Colossians 1, the Bible says that Jesus is the glue that holds everything together. Every proton, every electron, every atom... all held together by the very presence of Jesus.

As you ponder this promise today, may God give you the awareness of His nearness to you. He is not far off in some distant land, but He is closer than you could possibly imagine! So reach out today and encounter the love of your Father that is with you wherever you go.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #255:
Before you even call out to Me, I will answer you.

Isaiah 65:24 (WEB)
It will happen that, before they call, I will answer;
and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Have you ever felt that God seemed a million miles away when you prayed? I think all of us have struggled with the feeling that our prayers seemed like they were bouncing off the ceiling at one time or another. I am not sure why we sometimes struggle with these feelings of being distant to God when we pray. Whatever the reason, it is at these times where we can exercise our faith and demonstrate that we believe God despite our perceptions (Hebrews 11:6).

Even though we go through seasons of feeling isolated and distant, the truth is that God is not distant when we pray. God is closer to us than we could possibly imagine and today's promise from Isaiah 65:24 is an encouragement that He will answer us even before we pray! In Matthew 6:8, Jesus affirms this promise by telling His disciples that their Heavenly Father knows what they need before they even ask!

My prayer for each one of us today is that faith will rise up in our hearts when we pray to our Heavenly Father, because we know that He is fully engaged with us and is ready to answer even before we call out to Him!

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #256:
I will be the voice behind you, guiding you in the way you should go.

Isaiah 30:21 (WEB)
and when you turn to the right hand,
and when you turn to the left,
your ears will hear a voice behind you,
saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

Have you ever come to a fork in a road and not sure which road to take? I know that often when I have gone hiking, there inevitably comes a time on the trail where it splits off to the right and then left and I am not always sure which path to take. Wouldn't it be nice if at that exact moment, you had a trail guide standing behind whispering in your ear what to do?

In today's Bible promise, God is saying that He is right behind us and He will tell us the way we should go. What a comforting thought to know that we are not left on our own to figure things out. God has committed to walk with us and to at times, carry us on our life's journey. Sometimes when I struggle to find my Father's direction, I wonder if it is because there are so many other thoughts swirling around in my brain that I just fail to hear His still small voice?

Experts say that we all have tens of thousands of thoughts chattering in our brain on an average day. Perhaps all that noise is drowning out the gentle, quiet whisper of our heavenly Dad who is standing behind us, willing to tell us where we should go if we will only quiet our mind to listen? This is why I think it says in Psalm 46:10 to 'be still and know that I am God'.

The next time you need to know what path to take, why not quiet yourself (to the best of your ability) from all the chattering and opinions that swirl in your thought life and listen for the still small voice behind you? God has promised to be there and He has promised to be the voice that will direct you in the way you should go.

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #257:
I will train you for battle with My shield of salvation.

Psalm 18:34-35 (WEB)
34 He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great.

The Bible says that we are to fight the good fight of faith and to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the enemy. It also says that the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. There is no question that there is a battle going on in the spiritual realm and we are called to take our stand and resist the enemy.

In today's promise, King David paints an intimate picture of how God Himself trains him for battle. I really like the NIV Bible translation of Psalm 18:34-35... 34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.

What a picture of intimacy! Even in the midst of preparations for battle, David speaks of a God that gently trains him and sustains him and even stoops down from heaven to make him great. No matter what battle you are facing today, be comforted in knowing that it is God Himself that will equip you to fight the good fight, for the battle belongs to the Lord.

He will stoop down beside you, give you His shield of victory and His gentleness will make you great!

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #258:
I will be faithful to give you My strength and protection.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 (WEB)
But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you,
and guard you from the evil one.

God is faithful. He will never leave you or forsake you and He has promised to protect you from the evil one. In a world that is full of broken promises, this is something that we can know and rely on. The NIV Bible says 2 Thessalonians 3:3 this way... But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

You can rest in the fact that you are safe and secure in your heavenly Father's love. His Word is His bond and He is completely faithful to do all that He promises. May faith rise up in our hearts today to believe that God is who He says He is and that we are who He says we are... His beloved children (1 John 3:1).

We don't have to defend ourselves from the onslaughts of an orphan world system because He has promised to defend and protect us! ...After all, He is our Dad and that is what good fathers do!

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #259:
You will find safety in My everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27 (WEB)
The eternal God is your dwelling place. Underneath are the everlasting arms.
He thrust out the enemy from before you, and said, ‘Destroy!’

God is our eternal refuge. Just think of that for a moment. There will never be a time in all eternity where you will ever be unprotected. You can feel safe and secure knowing that your God and Father will carry you in His everlasting arms forever!

When our children were little, I absolutely loved holding them in my arms. It felt so good and I think my children enjoyed the safety and security of that feeling too. If as fathers, we were meant to be a foreshadow of the true Father, then I would imagine that God would feel the same sense of satisfaction and contentment when He is holding us in His big strong arms.

In Psalm 27:1, David declares ... The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? (NIV). The reason David wasn't afraid of his enemies was because he was completely aware that He was being protected by the everlasting arms of God Himself. May we all be encouraged today of this tangible reality. We will find safety in the everlasting arms of our Papa!

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #260:
I carry your burdens every day.

Psalm 68:19 WEB
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens,
even the God who is our salvation. Selah.

I am thankful that our God promises to save us and continually bear our burdens. When we feel the weight of the world on our own shoulders, may this promise encourage us that we are not called to carry the burdens ourselves. May we always be reminded of Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 that says...

28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (WEB)

If you are carrying a backpack full of worry and anxiety today, cast every care in that backpack on to God because He really cares about you! (1 Peter 5:7)

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #261:
I have called you to inherit My blessing.

1 Peter 3:9 WEB
not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult; but instead blessing;
knowing that to this were you called, that you may inherit a blessing.

In this Scripture passage, the Apostle Peter is encouraging us not to repay evil for evil, but rather be a blessing instead. If we are living with an orphan perspective, we will have to scratch and claw for everything we get in life. When people do evil things to us, we will need to respond in the same way back to them. The life of an orphan is lonely and scary. An orphan is left to their own devices to manage life.

The life of a son or daughter however, is quite different. They know that they are loved beyond imagination and are safe from harm. They live in the reassurance that they are blessed beyond measure and that they have a rich inheritance of many blessings yet to come. In Ephesians 1:3, the Bible says that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heaven. The life that we are called to live is a life of abundance and blessing.

That is why when someone acts in an 'orphan-like' way to us, even a brother or sister in Christ, we don't have to respond in a similar way, but we can respond with blessings. May each one of us be so filled with the revelation that we have been called to inherit a blessing, that we become an absolute outflow of blessings to others!


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #262:
If you honor Me with your firstfruits, you will overflow with abundance.

Proverbs 3:9-10 (WEB)
9 Honor Yahweh with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase:
10 so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

Today's Scripture passage is a wonderful picture of abundance and overflow. The kingdom of God does not work like the kingdom of this world. In God's kingdom, it is more blessed to give than receive. In His kingdom, we can never out give the most generous person in the universe for God loves to pour back into us far more than we could possibly give to Him.

Why does God want us to give Him of our firstfruits? Does God need our money? Absolutely not! The Bible says that the entire earth is the Lord's and all that is in it. God has no need of our resources whatsoever. What our God and Father longs for more than anything else is our heart ...and Jesus told us that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also (Matthew 6:21).

When we honor God with the very first and best of what our hands have created, we are acknowledging that He is the source of all our blessing. When we choose to trust in His present and future supply of all our needs by giving to Him of our firstfruits, I believe that it blesses His heart and moves Him to provide for us even more.

It is wonderful to live in a kingdom where we don't have to provide for ourselves, for we have a Father in heaven who knows all our needs and He delights to give us His kingdom!


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #263:
If you help the poor, your light will shine like the dawn.

Isaiah 58:7-8 (WEB)
7 Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth speedily; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Yahweh shall be your rear guard.

God's heart is for the underdog. He protects the widow and the orphan and has chosen the poor of this world to inherit His kingdom. In today's Scripture promise, God tells us that if we feed the hungry, give the poor shelter and clothe the naked, then His favor and His blessings will shine on all that we do.

The NLT version of Isaiah 58:8 says... “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind."

What a glorious promise! If we look after those who can't look after themselves, then God will look after us in every way possible. Our wounds will quickly heal, the light of our godliness will lead us forward and the glory of the Lord will protect our backs! God's heart is for the underdog.

In every way, we too are underdogs that God protects and provides for. May we see the world through our Father's eyes today and see the many opportunities that He presents to us so that we can be a blessing to others.

Lord help us today to see the needs around us and be a manifestation of your love, life and provision to those who are in need. Thank you that as we help others, your love and your glory will keep us safe too.


Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #264:
If you wait for Me, I will renew your strength.

Isaiah 40:31 (WEB)
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up
with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

When we think of waiting, whether it is waiting in a car for a friend, waiting in a doctor's office for an appointment, or waiting in a check out line, we might tend to think of waiting as being a time of inactivity or passivity. After all, while we are waiting, we aren't actually doing anything... or are we?

When we wait for somebody or something, we are actually in a posture of submission to somebody or something. For example, if you are waiting in a car for a friend, you have positioned yourself to be vulnerable to however long your friend takes to come into the car. When you are waiting in a doctor's office, you have given the doctor and his/her staff the power to choose who is next in line for their appointment.

While we may see waiting as inactive, it is actually the opposite in many cases. For me, a self-described 'type A personalty', waiting can be very difficult at times. The longer I wait, the more I begin to scream on the inside for something to happen! For me, waiting isn't passive or inactive, waiting is one of the most active things I can do.

In today's promise, we read that if we wait on the Lord, He will renew our strength. When we choose to humble ourselves before Almighty God and acknowledge that it is His will and direction that we are looking for, we are positioning ourselves to wait for Him to give us the guidance we are looking for. When we wait on Him, we are honoring Him and choosing not to 'lean to our own understanding' as mentioned in Proverbs 3:5-6.

Waiting on the Lord is one of the most active things we can do. It can be difficult at times because we are not in control of when and where God will move. We simply wait for Him to do what He wants to do, but the promise that we have today is that when we wait for Him, He will be faithful to renew our strength!

Father Heart Communications

 

[Hosanna]

Promise #265:
I will give you a peaceful sleep surrounded by safety.

Psalm 4:8 (WEB)
In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep,
for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.

There are many things in this world that cause us to be afraid and to not feel at peace. As a result, many people struggle with sleep at night because of the numerous anxious thoughts that they have circulating in their minds.

Jesus was able to sleep on boats in the midst of storms. He is the Prince of Peace and has promised to give His peace to us. In John 14:27 Jesus says... Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (NIV)

His encouragement to us today is to not be afraid. He will make us to lie down in peace and have a restful sleep surrounded by His abiding sense of safety. For all those who struggle with getting a good night's sleep, I pray that this promise would become a tangible reality for you today.

May you go to sleep tonight not dreading a night of tossing and turning. May the tangible presence of the Prince of Peace surround you and envelope you with His love so that you can feel truly safe so that you can have the best sleep of your life!

Father Heart Communications