God Promises We
[If you haven't read the Not I But We post that preceded this, please do. Thanks!]
Let's review:
Truth #1: We don't want to be an I; we yearn to be a we.
So how does that happen?
Well, it all starts with God. (Please don't leave me here. You're rolling your eyes, thinking, "I want somebody with skin on, thanks." But I promise you, you've got to start here. You will not find the fulfillment you are looking for in any earthly we unless you find the truth of this heavenly we.)
So this brings us to Truth #2: God initiates the we.
This is one of the most fun and in-depth things you can study in the Bible. It starts in Genesis and continues in every book through to Revelation. God appears with Adam and Eve, walking in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). He approached Abraham with an earth-changing plan (Genesis 12:1-3). In Genesis 26:3, he appeared to Abraham's son Isaac, saying, "Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you," (italics mine).
And then we come to one of the most powerful promises in the Old Testament: Jacob had just blown it. Totally. He had stolen the God-ordained blessing from his brother and deceived his father (Genesis 27:1-40). And now he was running for his life. Let me say this plainly: there is nothing in Scripture about Jacob, up to this point, where he had ever chosen to live obediently to God. Nothing. He had chosen selfishness and evil and lying every time. And now he was headed away from every person and every thing he had ever known because of his own bad decisions.
And when he stopped to sleep one night, he dreamed that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with God Himself speaking to him:
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15).
God promised over and over and over (Genesis 31:3, Joshua 1:5, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 1:19, Matthew 28:20, and Acts 18:10) that He would be WITH His people. To protect, to sustain, to love, to comfort, to BE WITH.
To make the I into a we.
He was with Abraham. He was with Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons and their descendants. He was with them when they became slaves in Egypt, even though for 400 years they felt abandoned. He was with them when Moses led them out triumphantly. He was with them as they wandered in the desert 40 years. He was with them when Joshua led them to conquer the Promised Land hundreds of years after He had promised it to Abraham. He was with them when they chose to live in disobedience, when they fell victim to their enemies, and even when the Promised Land was overwhelmed and destroyed by world powers that neither acknowledged or revered God.
ALL THEY EVER HAD TO DO WAS LOOK AND HE WAS THERE. In the prophets. In the Law. In the sacrifices. In nature and space and the miracles of childbirth and healing and death.
He was there, whether they saw Him or not. In good times and bad, in success and defeat, in plenty and in famine. He had promised He was with them. HE WAS.
But sometimes they didn't know it, either because they didn't want to see Him or because they had fallen into such despair they thought surely He was nowhere near. But He was always there for His people.
And He is always there for you. Whether you know it or not, HE IS WITH YOU through His Son, Jesus Christ (whose nickname, Immanuel, means "God with us,") and through the Spirit He breathed on those who are His. Jesus' last words to His followers were, "I will be with you always, to the very end of the age," (Matthew 28:20, in all translations here.)
He is there. Even if you, like Adam and Eve, have sinned. Even if you, like Jacob, are running away from your past. Even if you, like the disciples, are scared to death of what it means to be a follower of Christ.
He is with you. He will not leave you. He promised and He does not lie.
So tomorrow morning, choose to believe it. Pick up your Bible and read it as it's supposed to be read: God's living, inspired word for you (Hebrews 4:12). Pray to Him, knowing that He hears you (John 11:42). Go through your day, knowing that you have the right to use His power working mightily in you (Colossians 1:29).
You wanted to be a we. He's holding out His hand. Take it.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
THANKS for subscribing, forwarding, liking, sharing, and whatever else it is you do. The word is spreading :)
Let's review:
Truth #1: We don't want to be an I; we yearn to be a we.
So how does that happen?
Well, it all starts with God. (Please don't leave me here. You're rolling your eyes, thinking, "I want somebody with skin on, thanks." But I promise you, you've got to start here. You will not find the fulfillment you are looking for in any earthly we unless you find the truth of this heavenly we.)
So this brings us to Truth #2: God initiates the we.
This is one of the most fun and in-depth things you can study in the Bible. It starts in Genesis and continues in every book through to Revelation. God appears with Adam and Eve, walking in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). He approached Abraham with an earth-changing plan (Genesis 12:1-3). In Genesis 26:3, he appeared to Abraham's son Isaac, saying, "Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you," (italics mine).
And then we come to one of the most powerful promises in the Old Testament: Jacob had just blown it. Totally. He had stolen the God-ordained blessing from his brother and deceived his father (Genesis 27:1-40). And now he was running for his life. Let me say this plainly: there is nothing in Scripture about Jacob, up to this point, where he had ever chosen to live obediently to God. Nothing. He had chosen selfishness and evil and lying every time. And now he was headed away from every person and every thing he had ever known because of his own bad decisions.
And when he stopped to sleep one night, he dreamed that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with God Himself speaking to him:
"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15).
God promised over and over and over (Genesis 31:3, Joshua 1:5, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 1:19, Matthew 28:20, and Acts 18:10) that He would be WITH His people. To protect, to sustain, to love, to comfort, to BE WITH.
To make the I into a we.
He was with Abraham. He was with Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's twelve sons and their descendants. He was with them when they became slaves in Egypt, even though for 400 years they felt abandoned. He was with them when Moses led them out triumphantly. He was with them as they wandered in the desert 40 years. He was with them when Joshua led them to conquer the Promised Land hundreds of years after He had promised it to Abraham. He was with them when they chose to live in disobedience, when they fell victim to their enemies, and even when the Promised Land was overwhelmed and destroyed by world powers that neither acknowledged or revered God.
ALL THEY EVER HAD TO DO WAS LOOK AND HE WAS THERE. In the prophets. In the Law. In the sacrifices. In nature and space and the miracles of childbirth and healing and death.
He was there, whether they saw Him or not. In good times and bad, in success and defeat, in plenty and in famine. He had promised He was with them. HE WAS.
But sometimes they didn't know it, either because they didn't want to see Him or because they had fallen into such despair they thought surely He was nowhere near. But He was always there for His people.
And He is always there for you. Whether you know it or not, HE IS WITH YOU through His Son, Jesus Christ (whose nickname, Immanuel, means "God with us,") and through the Spirit He breathed on those who are His. Jesus' last words to His followers were, "I will be with you always, to the very end of the age," (Matthew 28:20, in all translations here.)
He is there. Even if you, like Adam and Eve, have sinned. Even if you, like Jacob, are running away from your past. Even if you, like the disciples, are scared to death of what it means to be a follower of Christ.
He is with you. He will not leave you. He promised and He does not lie.
So tomorrow morning, choose to believe it. Pick up your Bible and read it as it's supposed to be read: God's living, inspired word for you (Hebrews 4:12). Pray to Him, knowing that He hears you (John 11:42). Go through your day, knowing that you have the right to use His power working mightily in you (Colossians 1:29).
You wanted to be a we. He's holding out His hand. Take it.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
THANKS for subscribing, forwarding, liking, sharing, and whatever else it is you do. The word is spreading :)
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