Sustained Through Promises

"Then the One seated on the throne said, 'Look!  I am making everything new.'  He also said, 'Write, because these words are faithful and true.'"
-Revelation 21:5

In previous years I had stayed up with my family, munching on snacks as we waited to toast the new year, tiredly but cheerfully clinking glasses of apple cider.  This year I instead lay in my bed, quietly contemplating the year I would leave behind, as well as the one I was about to begin, as the folk music gently drifted through my earbuds.  Like everyone else, the thought of a new year brought me comfort; I was glad for a fresh start to the year and an opportunity to work on the small resolutions I had made.  Still, this also brought plenty of uncertainty; after all, just because another year was starting did not mean that the things I had considered and prayed over would suddenly be resolved.  Dad was still in need of a job; we weren't sure whether Colorado would be our home in another year; I had begun to question what my "calling" truly was.  If anything, the new year didn't diminish the questions surrounding these circumstances, but only made them more pressing.
Often this kind of uncertainty would beget the same kind of anxiety that comes when I am sitting in the passenger seat of a car.  I don't particularly enjoy driving, but I still generally prefer to drive myself than to get a ride from someone else.  Even if the other person is a good driver, I often find myself clutching the roof handle with white knuckles, or itching to use the brake pedal (even though it's not there) if I sense the driver hasn't started braking early enough.  Sometimes the driver will give me a quizzical or amused look, and then I apologize and explain that I really, really like having control.
Yet as I lay there in my bed on New Year's Eve, I didn't feel the waves of anxiety over me or the urge to fight uncertainty, but I instead felt the peace that could only have come from the Holy Spirit.  In the days leading up to New Year's, I had begun to pray more that I would trust in God; in turn, I found that I was beginning to feel more at peace.  I went to bed that night feeling at ease, knowing that though I had no idea how the year would turn out, there was a good and righteous God sustaining my life.
In the days that followed, I've also started dwelling more on some of the promises that God offers in the Bible.  There are many to be found there - promises of wisdom, peace, joy, and so forth.  But this past week, as I engaged in fellowship, spent time in the Word, prayed, and thought to myself, three promises in particular stood out to me.

1. God is in control and cares deeply for you (Colossians 1:17).  In my moments where I doubt God, I still believe God is in control, but I am prone to wonder if He thinks my problems insignificant.  Others are perhaps apt to believe the opposite, that God is loving but doesn't have any real control over their lives.  Yet neither of these are true.  The Bible assures us that nothing is out of His grasp (Job 12:10), for God has already decided the course of our lives (Proverbs 16:9) and through Him we are victorious (Romans 6:14, 8:37).  We can also be assured that God does indeed care for us and our triumphs as well as our trials.  "You Yourself have recorded my wanderings," declares David in Psalm 56, after the Philistines captured him when he fled to Gath for refuge from Saul.  "Put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your records?"  Psalms like these were David cries out to God show us that we aren't guaranteed safety and comfort; indeed, we will most likely endure miseries of all kinds for the rest of our lives.  But we are promised the eternal, constant love of God, and that all things will work together for His glorious purpose (Romans 8:28).

2. God is wonderfully providential and blesses His children abundantly (Matthew 10:30-31).  God has provided a number of different blessings to each individual, but the greatest one is the one that unifies us as believers: Jesus redeeming us through His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection.  From there, God blesses us with a myriad of other gifts that bring us joy while also bringing Him glory.  For example, my mentor Debbie has been gifted with marriage, four children, and talent to create things like beautiful cards that enrich her ministry at church.  I don't share in these gifts (though I may at some point), but I've been gifted in other ways, such as having the opportunity to live in Leipzig for three months so I could evangelize and exhort others there.  But in the mix of these wonderful blessings we are also handed a number of things that cause us anguish - the passing of a loved one, a car breaking down, a friendship falling apart.  What then?  Could these things bring God as much glory as a miracle would have?  Absolutely.  God still provides through tragedy, but it is often difficult for us to see and understand, since our ability to comprehend the reasons behind our suffering is limited.  His wisdom is, however, far greater than ours, and He therefore understands perfectly what will work best for His glory and our good (Romans 11:33).*

3. God has made you a new creation and is still working to make all things new (Revelation 21:5).  When we decide to follow Christ, the heart of stone we once had is exchanged for a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).  This means that if we are serious about following Christ, we are engaged in a lifelong process of sanctification that will transform us so we become more like Him.  Hopefully this evokes awe in you as it does me, because my own wonder stems from the fact that I can see my heart better than anyone else and it is not at all a pretty sight.  If I could pull my heart out and hand it to you to inspect, you would see plenty of pride, fear and despair, selfishness, envy, and a number of other things I'd hope you wouldn't find.  But what are these to the God who put sin and death in their own graves?  We will fail this year and in years to come (should we live that long), and with that may come consequences, but God's grace is and will be far greater (Ephesians 4:7) and He will freely offer us mercy (James 2:13, Psalm 86:5).

We will undoubtedly experience difficulty this year - there is no question of whether we will, but when.  But we do not have to despair - God will not hesitate to offer us peace, wisdom, and guidance.  Find comfort in the truth He offers, and let His promises and grace be the bread you eat each day this year.  He will not fail or forsake you.

*This relates to one of the questions Christians are asked the most - "why does God allow pain and suffering?"  For the sake of brevity I didn't want to write much on this, but there are a number of resources written by people wiser than me, such as Trusting God by Jerry Bridges and The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis.