Many years go, when I was a young 20 something, I had a unique opportunity to put God to the test on his promises. I had been studying the book of Proverbs in my personal time alone with the Lord. This particular book of the Bible is full of God’s promises and wise sayings from King Solomon.
At the time, I was teaching Secondary School to Nigerians, in Nigeria, West Africa. One of my duties was to proctor exams that decided whether or not a student would be considered for a college education. I am not small. I am just shy of five feet ten inches tall. I was about 23 years old and a somewhat sickly slender from the local intestinal bugs I had hosted.
On one particular occasion as I was overseeing the exam I saw a student cheating.
This was not just any student, but the biggest, strongest and meanest student in the school of 500 students. I remember when I confronted him, he stood up and I had to put my head back to look him in the eye. When I did, I met his glare as he snarled at me promising I would pay for turning him in. It clearly felt like the promise of personal threat to my life. And part of me was shaken.
I admit I was surprised, when out of my mouth, I believe God breathed by the Holy Spirit, I found myself with calm and resolve quoting God’s promise in Proverbs 2:8 to him.
“for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.”
Though a bit rattled, I was basically, at peace. The weight of God’s promise rang true in my heart.
The young man left on school vacation the next day.
Weeks later, when school was back in full swing I noticed that I had not seen that student on campus. I looked for a few days then asked a student who knew the one who had threatened me. I asked if he knew where this other one was.
His reply: “Yes Miss, On his travels home for holiday, his taxi was in a car accident and he died on the side of the road.”
I was stunned. Road accidents in central Nigeria were very common. In my mind I asked God, “Was that really necessary?” As I listened I had the sense that the student’s promise to harm me was real. I also had the sense that the promise from God to protect the way of his faithful ones far outweighed any threats.
That experience, and others over the years, have instilled in me a deep trust in the promises of God from the Bible.
When looking for God’s promises there are a few things to take into account.
Always take the word of God in context. Don’t pull out half a verse, or a whole one, to make it your promise when everything around your “proof-text” indicates it really means something else.
A promise is only as good as the one who makes it. Any one can make a promise, but the ability to fulfill a promise is only good if the one promising is true to their word. God is true to His promises.
Am I true to my word? I’ll never be as faithful as our Creator, but with God’s help… I try to be faithful.
How has God fulfilled His promises to you? Take a few minutes to ponder the faithfulness of God to you personally and to the family of God.
Finally, thank God for His love for you, attention to detail and persistent faithfulness.
