Standing on the promises of God is an essential Christian discipline, expelling the lies of a very real enemy (1 Peter 5:8) and reiterating the life-giving and refreshing Word that restores the spirit man. The valleys of life are a certainty just like death and taxes. I have found plenty of valley terrain over here in Cameroon, and I am sure you all can relate to various storms in your own life. But I am so thankful for the God we serve whose promises and kingdom are everlasting.
In 4th grade, my teacher Ms. Rhonda Evans gave me (along with the rest of my classmates) a small gift that I have cherished even to this day...a promise that I have kept coming back to in some of my most tumultuous times. It was a bookmark with my name and its Biblical meaning with associated Bible verse: Glenn ~ Prosperous One. "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." (Psalm 1:3) This verse in particular has been God's constant whispering throughout the many years of preparation that has brought me to the present, and its an ongoing reminder that I am planted here (at Mbingo) to thrive not to be forsaken. Psalm 139 is my confirmation: "You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from you Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." (Psalm 139:2-12)
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me... And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) God is there in the midst of every circumstance that He is leading you and me through. It is imperative to remember such promises when everything goes pear-shaped. Perhaps the topsy-turvy craziness of the day is the perfect prompting to abandon our own understanding and trust instead in His perfect ways. (Proverbs 3:5)
Blessed Easter everyone! The Risen Savior reigns forever; to His kingdom there shall be no end! (Isaiah 9:6-7) (Revelations 1:17-18)
Start listening around 1min 20sec in..."Walk on Water" has been my daily theme song as of late.
