It's a Promise

from January 28, Diamonds in the Dust devotional, by Joni Eareckson Tada

Explanations

"Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you;  I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
Isaiah 46:4

Warren Wiersbe once said, "Nothing is harder to heal than a broken heart shattered by experiences that seem so meaningless.  But God's people don't live on explanations;  God's people live on His promises."

A grocery list of biblical reasons explaining the whys and wherefores behind suffering doesn't always help when you're hurting.  What does help are the promises of God.  Even though God's promises are usuually devoid of standard explanations and don't always detail the blueprint behind His plan, they do point to the loving character of our good and kind Lord.

Take Isaiah 46:4.  Even for someone bent over with age and arthritis, God's explanation is simple and powerful, "I am He, I am He who will sustain you."  God wants us to understand that He alone is the source of help and hope.  God owes us no explanations.  He did enough explaining on the cross to show that His love is sufficient to meet every need.

Look again at our verse for the day.  In one short sentence, God promises that He will rescue, carry, and sustain you.  How?  At least six times, God uses the personal pronoun to point to Himself.  His promises are signed, sealed and delivered on the basis of who He is.  And He is faithful.  He is loving.  He rescues you and carries you.  It's a promise.

Lord, I don't survive because You roll out in front of me the blueprint behind my painful experiences.  I don't live on reasons why.  I live on Your promises.  Draw me to them today and help me to lean on Your loving faithfulness.  This will be enough.