Crisis and trials reveal the quality at which we have been building our lives and the areas that may require attention. Some of our most valuable lessons in life rise out of the ashes of our most difficult circumstances.

If this moment we are facing directs us to draw closer to God, then we should embrace the difficulty knowing that we are becoming more like Jesus.

John 16:33 Jesus warned us how in this life we would have tribulation, The word tribulation in the Greek is Thlipsis, and it carries the idea of coping with the internal pressure of a tribulation, especially when feeling there is “no way of escape.”

Doesn’t that sum up how many of us are feeling? So why do we have tribulations in this life? Troubles, heartaches, and difficulties are the by-product of sin. That was never God’s plan for His creation.

When God created mankind, He gave us free-will. Through free-will, we rejected God’s plan and invited sin into the world, opening wide the door of adversity.

Although God has provided us with forgiveness and a new way to live, we continue to deal with the consequences of free-will. But this doesn’t change God’s faithfulness towards us.

God is a promise-maker and a promise-keeper. It’s not something He does; it is who He is. Deuteronomy 7:9 says that God keeps His covenants to a thousand generations.

•  “Your faithfulness endures to all generations.” Psalm 119:90
• “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.”            2 Timothy 2:13

A promise is only as good as the person making it. I wonder if someone reading today has felt the sting of a broken vow.

The pains of an unkept promise can have a lasting effect. The scars of a vow broken can impair our ability to trust. We can recover from hurtful words, but a broken promise is hard to overcome.

“It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” Ecclesiastes 5:5

Promise making and keeping is a big deal to God. It would be better for you not to make a promise than to make one and not keep it.

In Genesis, God gave Abraham His word that He would be the father of a people as numerous as the stars in the sky. To appeal to Abrahams’s humanity God invokes His own name, i.e. His character, as collateral, ensuring He would do what He promised.

Yet the time between a promise made and a promise fulfilled can be difficult as circumstances cause us to question if the pledge will be accomplished.

A key characteristic of waiting on a promise is patience. Patience is not an intrinsic human quality, yet it is a fruit of the Spirit to be developed. If you are an impatient person, learn patience by trusting and surrendering to God’s timing.

With patience;

• We can enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
• We will experience more blessings than just the end result.
• We can see and experience God during uncertainty.

It’s impossible for God to lie. He is unable to NOT want to lie because that would suggest that He could choose to lie. It’s simply not an option for Him. This fact can help us endure the waiting time.

So what are some of God’s promises that we can hold onto as we persevere another week of the coronavirus?

We know that;

• God will never leave us nor forsake us, Deuteronomy 31:6
• God is for us, Romans 8:31
• God works out all things for the good of those who love him, Romans 8:28.
• God will be with us until the end of the age, Matthew 28:20.

Hebrews 6:19 describes God’s trustworthiness as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. An anchor is a symbol of stability.

An anchor doesn’t stop the waves from crashing but prevents the boat from drifting out to sea. Jesus, as our hope, is an anchor of the soul.

The word soul in Greek refers to “life as a whole.” God secures us wholly through every unstable time, but we need to make sure that we are connected to the anchor. Trust is the rope that connects us to the anchor.

Hebrews 6 goes on to describe Jesus as a forerunner who has gone past the veil into the Holy of holies. In the Old Testament, the Holy of holies was the sacred place where God’s presence resided.

As the forerunner, Jesus leads us into the presence of God not based on our merits, works, or morals but on His. So when the storms of life hit and turbulent times feel like they just won’t end, run into God’s presence.

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10

Having faith does not shield us from storms in life, but Jesus is the anchor that secures us through it.  No matter what you are facing, you can trust God to be with you!

His promises will endure our adversity, and He has provided us the means of riding out the storm by entering His presence?