Promises - We Can't Always See Them - A Dose of Encouragement

Not very long ago I read of a Canadian school teacher who on his 27th time reading through the Bible decided to take a note of all the promises he found there.  

This took him a year and a half and he came up with a grand total of 

8,810 

PROMISES. 

We are NOT going to look at all those promises!!!!

Although if you are interested in some of them you can have a look at 

Bible Verses for  10 Great Promises of God.

or you can have a look at a reminder of many things God has Promised in Promises

However it got me thinking about this and I wondered how many times have we promised something

• to others
• to ourselves
• to God

You know the things we have said:

Yes, yes, yes I promise!   -  when we are not really interested and just want to get on quickly to something else.

Of course I promise!

I Promise I really do!

I never promised!

Do any of those sound familiar?

Can any of us say we have never broken any of the promises we have made?

We just need to admit that we can't remember all the promises we have made in our lives and we probably don't remember if we made any yesterday.

Perhaps we speak too soon about things, or too quickly, or perhaps we don't take promises too seriously.

Perhaps we want to forget about a promise we made because we don't really want to be held to it.

Surprisingly we can forget that others have promised things too.

So thinking back to that 8,810 promised that were found in the Bible we can be sure that many of those were made by God and we should never forget about God's Promises.  In fact we should take some time to learn more about them.

Sometimes the reason we forget about people or things is because we can't always see them.   This can be the same for promises.

One promise that God made to everyone is easy to remember because God gave us a sign in the bible which is still repeated physically for all the generations since to see.

The Promise of the Rainbow from Genesis chapter 9 v 12 - 17

12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 

13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 

14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 

15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 

16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” 

17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” 

When we know that God gave us this great reminder of His Promise then we know He intends to keep His promise.

This should encourage us to seek out more of the promises for us in the Bible and get to know more about them.  

Then start remembering that

 

GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES

even though

we can't always see them 

Every morning as we have breakfast together Fred and I pray to thank God for the previous day and the things we are thankful for from that day.  Then we pray for family, friends and other needs we know about and end by asking for God's care and protection & wisdom.

We can pray this way because

 

we believe God's promises to us

and

because 

God does not forget what He has said!

Because God is not like us who so easily forget.

 We must look at God's Promises in the light of 

WHO GOD IS 

and not who we are.

 

Reading Through The Bible - RUTH

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

RUTH  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -  HISTORY

8th book of the OT 

8th book of the Bible

It starts with Famine, Family, Death & Sadness in relationships.

But does not stay that way.

One of the most famous verses of the book is in chapter 1 v 16 which brings the first ray of hope into the sad story.

The love and compassion shown here are so important.

What is it?

The Book of Ruth is one of the History Books in the Old Testament which means it is Factual and has a place in the time frame of Christianity.

How Long is it?

It has 4 chapters each one being less than 25 verses.

When was it Written?

It was written between 1050 & 1000 BC.

Who Wrote it?

Some believe it would have been written by the Prophet Samuel but there is uncertainty about this.

Who was it Written about?

It was written about 3 people

Ruth (a moabitess) who had become a widow.

Naomi (an Israelite) who was the mother-in-law of Ruth and was also a widow.

Boaz (an Israelite) who was a relation of Naomi. 

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Two widows lose everything, and find hope in Israel—which leads to the birth of the future King David."

Who was it Written for?

It was written for the people of Israel to know an important fact in their history and help with the timeline of Christ.

 

Where did this part of history take place?

It started in the land of Moab where Naomi and her husband had gone to escape a famine in Israel and it continued in the land of Israel when Ruth and Naomi returned there after they were both widowed. 

Why was it Written? 

It was written to tell the true story of the faith of three people and of two relationships in the history of the Israelites which would have a most important effect on the future of the world. 

One between 2 women Ruth and her Mother-in-law Naomi, and the other between Ruth and Boaz.

 

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"The story of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges: it’s a bright story of hope during a very dark period in Israel’s spiritual and political history."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Ruth became the great grandmother of King David after a good deed of refusing to desert her mother-in-law.  Her story takes place mostly in Bethlehem the future birthplace of Jesus."

How does it end?

It ends with the marriage of Boaz & Ruth and part of the ancestry of Joseph who was to be the father of Jesus.

 

Descendants of Boaz and Ruth in chapter 4 v 13-17

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.  

14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!  

15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”  

16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.  

17 Also the neighbour women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

Quick outline of Ruth

1. Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem (ch 1)
2. Ruth gleans in Boaz’ field (ch 2)
3. Ruth proposes to Boaz (ch 3)
4. Boaz redeems Ruth and Naomi (ch 4:1–15)
5. King David’s genealogy (ch 4:16–22)

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement on The Promises of God - plus FREE PRINTABLE

We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all around the topic of God's Promises.

I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.

So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times when we need to be encouraged about those Promises God has made to us.

Because these are

 

1. God's Faithfulness

Deuteronomy 7 v 9

Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, 

the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations 

with those who love him and keep his commandments. 

God is faithful to keep His covenant (promise) with all those who love and obey Him.

When we read about the Covenant God made with His people in the Old Testament we can see how sacred and important He considered it to be.

2. God's Presence

Joshua 1 v 9

Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, 

for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 

Many times we just quote the latter part of this verse and in fact when we were leaving Northern Ireland to go and live in Belgium and feeling rather inadequate because I did not speak French or Dutch I was given this lovely picture below and I have loved having it as a reminder of this promise of God ever since.

3. God's Guidance

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye. 

God has promised to teach us the way to go through this life.

He has promised to be our guide. 

4. God's Strength

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; 

They shall mount up with wings like eagles, 

they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  

Look at all the benefits spoken of here in this verse yet only one thing is required of us  -  to wait on the Lord.

Take the time to just wait on God, read His Word, think on His Word, memorize His Word, hold it close to our hearts and we will know these benefits.

5. God's Care & Help

Isaiah 41:13

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand.
Saying to you, 

'Fear not, I will help you.' 

God cares enough to hold our hands through everything, He is promising to care for us and help us and will do not need to be afraid.

6. God's Mercy

Isaiah 54:10

For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”

Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. 

God has promised we will never be without his kindness and peace because He has mercy on us and that mercy is forever and ever - even when this world is over. 

7. God's Love

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believes on him should not perish 

but have everlasting life. 

God has promised to love us forever and the outworking of that is His gift of Salvation for us when we put our trust in Him. 

8. God's Provision

John 6:35

Then Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. 

He who comes to me shall never hunger, 

and he who believes in me shall never thirst." 

We never have to worry about anything because God is all-sufficient and can provide us with everything we need in our Spiritual Life.

9. God's Heaven is our Hope

John 14:2

In My Father's house are many mansions; 

if it were not so, I would have told you. 

I go to prepare a place for you. 

God has promised the greatest thing of all - HOPE - an eternity in His Presence that He prepared for each one of us.

10. God's Peace

John 14:27

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. 

While we are still here on earth we do not need to be worried or anxious about what will happen as times change and governments change.

God through the words of Jesus has promised us His Peace.

You can download this FREE copy of the Bible Verse Graphics I made for this blog post 

from my

 

RESOURCE LIBRARY HERE AT Sandra's Ark