A God for All Seasons

The problem that haunted me had me quaking in my boots. I was going to have to confront someone about a business issue that was handled incorrectly, and doing so was not only something that I hate to do, but the longing for flight was compounded by the overwhelming dread that paralyzes me when I have to face problems. Yet it had to be done.

Many years ago, when reading Christy , by Catherine Marshall, I had learned about "standing on a promise" from God's Word. When we have a problem, we scour God's Word and look for a verse, a promise from God, that applies to our situation. We then present that promise to God and hold Him to His Word. He is not a man that He should lie, so if He says something, we can be sure that He will do it.

Some of God's greatest servants in the Bible prayed in that vein.  When Moses stood in the gap for the rebellious nation he led, he reminded the Lord about His promises with respect to His people (Exodus 32:11-14).  David prayed according to God's promise about establishing his house (2 Samuel 7:21-29), not to mention the many references to God's precepts in his psalms. When Daniel learned of the prophesy of a 70 year captivity in Jeremiah's writing, Daniel prayed to God using His own words (Daniel 9:3-9). Others biblical persons who prayed God's Words include Jacob (Genesis 32:9-12), Abraham (Genesis 15:2-3), and the early church (Acts 4:24-30). In other words, it is indeed biblical to lift up God's Word to Him and pray, "You have said ..."

So now, in my current difficulty, I fell to my knees and called out to God for a specific promise for this situation. I turned the pages of my Bible this way, then that, looking for a verse that would "jump out" at me. One did. Isaiah 41:10, 13 says, "Fear thou not: for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness ... For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not: I will help thee."

So I stood on God's Word. I prayed and lifted up His own words to Him and told Him I was trusting in Him to fulfill His Word. I was still quaking, but my spirit was hanging on to His Word.

The time came to confront my adversary. Prior to this, I had found myself pushed around and, consequently, feared more of the same. My imagination had run wild, thinking of terrible scenarios in which I would have to involve a lawyer and fight for what was right. But, true to His Word, the Lord went before me. He not only gave me the courage to confront my adversaries, but prepared the way for me. This time they did not bully me. They quietly folded their hands and did as we asked. It was a win-win. Win for me in the natural, win for God in the spiritual.

In the 1960s, Robert Bold produced a play about the 16th century statesman Thomas Moore. a man renowned for his steadfast convictions—so steadfast that he was willing to lose his head for them. As laudable as that might have been, we have something even better.

We serve a God even more stalwart than Thomas Moore. A God Who always lives up to His Word. No matter what our problem, no matter what the difficulty before us, He has the answer. And if we present our concerns to Him couched in the promises of His very own Words, He will answer. You can bet on it.

He is a God for every problem in our life. He is a God for all seasons.

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need"(Hebrews 4:16).

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him" (1 John 5:14-15).