By the time I sit down to write to you each week, I’ve usually been mulling over a theme with the Lord for several days. Often it comes from my own life experience or from someone close to me.
This week is different. I’ve had wonderful interactions with friends, but none felt appropriate to share. They involved fear, discouragement, health challenges, critical decisions and… loneliness. Which would I choose? How can I share without betraying a confidence?
Finally the deadline was here. I scooped up my Bible and half a dozen other books I’m reading and headed for my library loft, still unsure of a topic but praying the Lord would give me something to pass along.
Somehow in the collection of books, I’d accidentally picked up a random piece of mail -- a small health magazine I’d never read before.
As I thumbed through the pages, I discovered a promise on nearly every page. Most were advertisements to purchase something that would change my life. May I just share a few with you?
Do Try the Apple Fix for All-Day Energy!
7 Days to a Flat Stomach
Get Smoother, Younger-Looking Skin – Overnight
Secrets to Fuller, Thicker Hair – at Any Age
Look Years Younger in 10 Minutes or Less
Lower Blood Pressure by 30 Points in 3 Days
Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease by a Whooping 82%
Lose 10 Years in 1 Hour
This Treatment Slashed the Risk of Spinal Fractures by an Incredible 70%
Everything You Need to Know to Prevent a Heart Attack
And here’s my favorite…
Food Splurges That Slim You:
“The list of active calorie foods may astonish and delight you: steak, potatoes, chocolate, waffles, fast foods, crackers, peanut butter, mozzarella, burritos, avocados, nut butters, salad dressing, corn… the delicious list goes on and on!”
I’ll have to admit: for just a minute I considered getting on the Internet and making some purchases. Who doesn’t want a quick fix to a hard problem?
But the Lord gently reminded me the power is not in the promise but in the One who speaks it and the faith He gives us to believe it.
This is the promise I’m embracing today for myself and for those I love facing hard realities:
“Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel!
He comes alongside us when we go through hard times,
and before you know it, He brings us alongside
someone else who is going through hard times
so that we can be there for that person
just as God was there for us.”
- 2 COR. 1:3-4 The Message
Sitting Still
I pray the Lord will lead you to a promise that speaks to the challenge in your life -- a promise you can embrace and that will wash over you filling you with hope and peace, wisdom and strength.