Jesus our promise

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

The Bible is full of covenant promises from God that reach from the Old Testament all the way into the life of every believer today. I hope you know that God doesn’t want promises to be treated as, “maybe I will believe them and maybe I won’t.” He wants us to place faith in them because He is a God of covenant and He does not lie. The Hebrew 11:6 tells us that “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Have you ever wondered, “Why can’t we please God without faith?” I believe the answer to that is that unbelief unchecked has the potential to take us all the way to rebellion.

Consider what we read about Israel’s unbelief in Deu 1:26-28. “But you were unwilling to go up; you REBELLED against the command of the LORD your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, “The LORD hates us; so He brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.'”

Moses instructed the people to go into the promised land as per God’s instructions. Some of the leaders did not trust God and spread their fear and unbelief to the rest of the people. They would not go either. Instead of trusting God’s promise that He’d help them defeat the enemies living in their promise land, they all expressed their fears and unbelief. When fear is voiced it grows! When fear is voiced by many, it becomes crippling! God spoke to them and He told them that not believing was rebelling. “But you were unwilling to go up; you REBELLED against the command of the LORD your God.” Rebellion is serious business. The Bible says rebellion is the same as witchcraft or you could say the rebellion opens the door to the devil and increased fear and problems.

In today’s Fresh Manna verse, we read verses from a story about David when he was in a very difficult spot. He just came back to His hometown with his army of men. When they got home their town was burning and the enemy had taken all of their possessions as well as their wives and children. David was discouraged as well as all of his men. They were so discouraged that they cried and cried hard. Out of their discouragement, they got so mad at David that they momentarily rebelled – they wanted to stone him. David was just as discouraged as they were. His loved ones were also taken. But unlike his men, he resisted discouragement and ran to God. 1 Sam 30:6 “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” Did you see what David did when everyone else was discouraged? “…but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

What we should all do when we get discouraged. Not cry. Not slip into unbelief and fear which just gives place to the devil. We, like David, should encourage our hearts in the Lord. We should encourage our hearts with the promises of God’s Word. Then encourage the hearts of those around us. That’s what David did. He remembered who His God was and encouraged his own heart. The rest is one fabulous miracle. They went out to make the enemy pay. They found the enemy and destroyed them. They got all their possessions back plus their wives, children and the riches of their enemies.

We can’t afford to be discouraged. Hebrews 6:12 affirms that saying, “We do not want you to become sluggish, stupid, or dull concerning your faith but instead imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

Discouragement is for people who don’t know God and His covenant promises. We have many promises of supernatural help from God. He is always there for us. If we will do what David did, we will experience the same miracle-working deliverance and help that David received.

Bless you today as you encourage yourself and through faith and patience, inherit what God has for you!

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt