Yesterday, was Valentine’s Day where you might have celebrated with a special dinner, gifts, cards, flowers, or candy, but most importantly, time spent together with your loved one. Dave and I had a lovely dinner out on Sunday. Our church had a special dinner Saturday night, but we were snowed in and couldn’t attend!
While our focus and attention is rightfully on our earthly love on this annual universally recognized day of love, we know that we don’t just love the object of our affection one day a year, but every day.
We make promises to each other that we have great intentions of fulfilling, but can’t always honor. “I promise I’ll be home by 6:00!” Many unexpected things could prevent you from keeping that promise.
Other promises are a sincere commitment, but aren’t always honored, “I’ll love you for as long as I live!”
Jesus’ promises to us are sincere commitments that He always keeps! We can count on it. We can trust that Jesus will fulfill all His promises in the Bible.
Scripture delineates over 7000 promises of God that provide the answers to all our cries for help for things like our provision, problems, decisions, crises, spiritual questions, and just daily life.
You’ve probably sang worship songs in church with lyrics like “standing on the promises of God.” Have you ever wondered what those promises were and how you could stand firmly on them? Do we just take it for granted that God promises us everything we want or desire . . . or is He more specific about what He will and won’t do for us?
How Do I Know If Jesus Hears My Cry for Help?
Jesus always hears our cries and pleas, but sometimes he adds the qualifier “if” and asks us to do something first.
For example, Jesus promises forgiveness and salvation to everyone who asks and repents, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
2 Chronicles 7:14 is a verse we’ve used a lot lately as we cry out for God to heal our land. It’s a promise from God, but there’s a big “If,” “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
God is saying that if we, His people—Christians—humbly pray and repent from our sins, then He will forgive us personally and heal our land. God wants us to live righteous and upright lives and He promises to help us be that kind of person . . . that kind of country.
We know it’s fair to say that the whole country isn’t going to repent and God isn’t expecting that, but God does expect His people will repent. That’s daunting. The pressure is on us to comply with His “If.”
How Do I Know If Jesus Will Help Me?
Like parents when their children ask for things, God answers and provides for us what He knows is best at the right time, not just for the moment, but also in the future.
‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer. 33:3
Rest assured that “my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
Most of us can look back on our lives and know that Jesus was there helping us navigate through struggles, confusion, decision-making, hurts, and likewise, celebrating with us during triumphs, joys, accomplishments, and good times.
It’s easy to forget our victories with Jesus in the past, when we face a new problem. But if we take a moment to pray and ask God to help us remember how His presence intertwined through all our life experiences, we’ll have confidence that He will be there for us now. A testimony to His faithfulness to all generations.
God doesn’t promise a life of ease, but he does promise always to be with us in all circumstances. God’s character is unchanging and He cannot lie. He assures us, “The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Ex. 14:14 NLT). Relax and count on it.
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (Is. 41:10 NLT)
Here are four hope-filled promises for trials where Jesus can help you make it through.
1. Jesus Help Me Believe in You
It’s God’s desire that all would come to a saving grace by believing in his One and only Son, Jesus Christ: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
What an amazing promise! One that every believer cherishes.
You might think that you’ve done too many bad things in your life for God to ever forgive you, but the Apostle Paul had persecuted Christians before he became a believer and an avid evangelist.
“Even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 13-14 NLT)
Notice that Paul admitted that he didn’t initially understand about the saving grace of Jesus. It wasn’t until he believed and had faith that Jesus was who he said he was that his eyes were open to receive the love and forgiveness of Jesus.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God. So to understand about Jesus we need to read the Bible. When you have questions talk to your pastor or a mentor who can help you understand how to change your life to adapt to the Bible not change the Bible to adapt to your life.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. (James 1:5 NLT)
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 2:21
Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. It’s always two-way where you can talk to him through prayer and He talks to you through His Word, the Bible.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1
2. Jesus Help Me Overcome My Doubts
Maybe you identify with the father who asked Jesus to help his son tormented by demons, but he added the qualifier, “Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” (Mark 9:22 NLT)
Jesus replied with a promise, “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” (Mark 9:23 NLT)
The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NLT)
It is possible to be a Christian but have moments of questioning when things don’t go the way we think they should or we’re not sure God can, or will, truly help us. In the case of the father, Jesus did give him a visible tangible miracle and healed his son. But what if we don’t get our miracle? How can we come through with our faith still intact?
Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Faith requires believing in things we cannot see because we don’t see the whole picture like our Sovereign God does. There are things we must accept as believers because, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (Heb. 3:14 NLT)
3. Jesus Help Me Overcome My Fear
Fears are a natural part of life. Fear is an honest, real emotion. Our heart races. We tremble. There’s a sinking fluttering sensation in our stomach. We’re terrified. Sometimes even frozen to the spot—we can’t move.
We’ve all experienced fear. Often, it’s a healthy reaction to a dangerous situation. Other times, it’s rooted in past or recent trauma or chronic worry. Letting Jesus help you conquer a fear can offer a world of new opportunities and accomplishments you might have previously avoided.
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Deut. 31:8 NLT)
In Everyday Brave, I remark that faith is the opposite of fear. So the antidote to fear, worry, and anxiety is to trust God. Don’t doubt Him. Realize and internalize the fact that God’s got this and He is way ahead of us.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Josh. 1:9)
When I’m encountering a particularly difficult time in my life, I recite the 23rd Psalm, especially the promise in verse 4:
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
4. Jesus Help Me When I’m Lonely
When asked to share a time when they were lonely, some responses were grief, living alone, singleness, misunderstood, moving, spiritual emptiness, illness, unemployment, financial loss, and you can probably think of more. Sometimes loneliness is short-lived and other times it is ongoing, even chronic.
We long for someone or something to fill the ache in our heart for companionship or relief from the feeling that no one understands us or has time for us. But God does!
God wants to be our everlasting friend, but this is another one of those “if” promises. “You are my friends if you do what I command” (John 15:14). And what was that command? “This is my command: Love each other” (John 15:17).
Jesus is saying that He wants us to reach out to others. Extend the hand of friendship or make an effort to take action to overcome the source of our loneliness knowing that Jesus will be right by our side giving us encouragement and confidence.
He promises that “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). Those were such comforting words to me when I lost my father at an early age, but accepted Jesus as my Heavenly Father. His promise proved true that He was, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (Ps. 68:5).
God’s promises provide the help we seek and an answer to all our needs and problems. We just need to find them in the Scriptures, pray over them, claim them, and rest in the assurance that God is always faithful, He is omnipresent in our lives, and He loves us with a never-ending love.
The destination will be worth the journey. Refuse to get discouraged!
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57)
A Prayer to Ask: Jesus, Help Me
A wonderful promise when we need help or are anxious about anything is when the Lord tells us to pray and He will bring upon our hearts and minds the peace that we so desperately seek.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4-6-7)
So let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, I’m crying out to You because I need Your help. Help that I cannot achieve on my own. I surrender to You all my attempts to try to solve my problems. I am so grateful for all the promises You give to me to personally claim and the solutions they offer. Help me to trust and obey the times You ask me to do my part in applying Your promises to my life. I know each one will improve and enhance my relationship with You and with others.
Lord, when I falter or forget Your faithfulness to me, please remind me that You’re only a prayer away! Amen
Parts of this blog appeared in my Crosswalk blog on 6/25/2020.
You might enjoy reading my recent Crosswalk article 5 Calming Prayers for Serenity During Stressful Times. We certainly are living in stressful times, but I read a great quote “Worry is a fruitless attempt to make things better. You must seek peace and pursue it by believing that I [God] hear and answer prayer.” Marsha Burns
A blog I wrote on February 9, 2015 has been trending on my website How to Have a Date With Jesus.
There is so much that i m enjoying from this blog indedd they inspired me and also brought hope to my hopeless life. The i read this i was in the midst of so much fear about this pandemic. My neighbors were in self isolation because of this covid. So i really felt so strong after reading the verses on God’s promises hence i feel i am so compelled to be on prayers. Thank you very much for the wonderful and inspiring words woman of God.
PJ I’m glad the article blessed you. To God be the glory!