The Lord is Faithful to all His Promises!
"The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has
made." (Ps 145:13)
"Mommy," called out a little girl one day, "Will you bring me a cookie?"
"Sure," answered her mother patiently. "Once we get them made!"
The little girl was satisfied at first, but before long she was back in the
kitchen: "Mommy, when are you going to bring me a cookie?"
The mother smiled at her daughter. "I promised you one, didn't I?"
"Yes, but it's taking so long! I'm hungry now! I want a cookie right
now!!"
"I'm sorry," responded the mother, beginning to lose patience. "You'll have
to trust me to give you one! They'll be ready soon!"
The girl stomped from the kitchen, back into the living room, and
none-too-patiently began to play with her dolls. The mother could hear some
muttering coming from the living room, and after she had slipped the cookie
sheet into the oven and set the timer for 12 minutes, she crept to the
doorway. Imagine her surprise when she saw angry tears streaming down the
red face of her little girl.
"I would never promise YOU cookies and then not give them to you!" sputtered
the little girl to her favorite doll. "She PROMISED to bring me a cookie,
but SHE DOESN'T KEEP HER PROMISES! She always keeps her promises to other
people, just not to me! Maybe she doesn't love me! Maybe she doesn't care!
Maybe she's mad at me 'cause I spilled my milk at lunchtime! Maybe . . ."
The mother but she bit her lip to repress the words. She longed to tell her
she wasn't mad at her, that she DID love her, that she DID care, and that
she DID keep her promises. But in her motherly wisdom, she realized it was
time to teach an important lesson, and she quietly went back to placing the
next batch of cookie dough on the other cookie sheet.
The torrent of angry words pouring out in the living room had only just
subsided when the buzzer rang and the mother removed her cookies. She
calmly placed them on a towel to cool, biding her time until the moment she
knew would come . . .
"Mommy!" cried the angry little voice. "Where is my cookie!? You
promised, and you haven't . . ."
Her stream of hateful words was suddenly arrested by the sight of her
mother, holding out a piping hot cookie in her hand: "The cookies just came
out of the oven, dear," she said patiently.
Part of her knew that she should probably withhold the cookie as a
punishment for her daughter's impatience, but the other part of her wanted
an important lesson to be learned, and she said: "Come. I want to talk to
you while you eat!"
The gist of their conversation went something like this: "When mommy
promises something, mommy will do everything in her power to keep that
promise. But sometimes things have to happen first! Before I could GIVE
you a cookie, I had to first MAKE it! I couldn't have given it to you when
you first asked, because all I had was a pile of flour and sugar. The time
had to be right for me to keep my promise."
How often do we claim God's promises as our own, only to be bitterly
disappointed that what we've been promised doesn't come to pass when and how
we think it should? And how often are we like the little girl, tempted to
believe that God doesn't care about us, or He doesn't care about our
situation, or He doesn't keep His promises, or that He's mad at us for
something. And how many times have we been tempted to think something like
this: "God must not be powerful enough to bring about MY miracle!"
When you aren't in such a situation, this list of accusations doesn't make
any sense at all! They are easily recognized for what they are: Lies! Lies
planted in our minds by the father of lies, in whom there is no truth (John
8:44). Lies planted by the ONLY one who really DESIRES that you NOT trust
God! Yet how easily we are made to espouse such thoughts in our times of
trouble! Let us, therefore, "take captive every thought to make it
obedient
to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5-6). Let's analyze each and every thought we are
tempted to think, ever asking ourselves these questions: "Is this thought
in accordance with what I have learned about God in scripture?" My friends,
if the answer is "no", then it is simply a lie designed to lead you astray
and sway your faith. For you know that: "Your enemy the devil prowls
around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8b) The
answer? "Be self-controlled and alert . . . Resist him, standing firm in
the faith . . ." (1 Peter 5:8a,9")
Do not fall into the traps of the enemy, my friend! Stand firm on the Rock!
Keep in your heart the nuggets of truth from God's word! "God has said,
'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (Heb 13:5). God
has
said: "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you
will receive, and your joy will be complete." (John 16:24). And
remember,
sometimes the cookies need time to bake!!!
Lord, open our ears to the voice of the enemy. May we learn to recognize
His lies! Empower us to "take captive every thought to make it obedient
to
Christ" (2 Cor 10:5-6) so that we may not be led astray, so that we may
not
fall into the trap of doubt and disbelief! Lord, no matter what the
circumstances may say, no matter how bad the situation may seem, no matter
how much time has elapsed, may we stand firm on your promises, never
wavering, for "The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward
all he has made." (Ps 145:13)
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,