One time, I was driving my three kids home from a playdate. We had had a good time, but it was well past their bedtimes already (which meant well into my “Mommy Time”), and, being pregnant on top of that, I was tired. As we got closer to home, I was focused on the road and on doing the job of getting us home safely. Ellie, however, was focused on something else. “Look, Mommy, a rainbow!” she said excitedly.
I turned my head not all that far to the left, and there it was—a perfect, vibrantly beautiful rainbow, clearly defined throughout the entire arc, all the way down to where it disappeared behind the buildings at either end. “It’s beautiful!” I said, and we admired it for awhile.
“Do you remember what rainbows mean?” I asked.
“They mean that God’s never going to flood the earth again,” Ellie said.
“That’s right,” I said, “and we know that’s true because God always keeps His promises.”
I mentally approved my “seizing the teachable moment” and figured that I had helped Ellie extract the appropriate theological meaning from it. I didn’t realize until later that there was much more to learn from this incident, and that I was the one who was to learn it.
I had almost missed the beauty of the rainbow and its reflection of one of God’s promises because I was so focused on pursuing my own path. Had I turned my head just a slight bit, I would have seen it for myself, but I was too intent on my own priorities.
I wonder…how many of God’s other promises do I miss contemplating the beauty of because I’m just not looking?
Sure, I know God’s promises are there, just like I know there are rainbows in the world. But how often do I take time to meditate on His precious promises, gazing upon their beauty and soaking it in? How often do I pursue my own goals without even considering which of God’s applicable promises He might be displaying in radiant beauty right next to me, trying to get my attention?
In February, when my newest daughter was born, I became the mother of four small children, ages four and under. Having four such young children involves a lot of work. But do I spend all my time thinking about how to handle the logistics of it all, or do I make it a point to consider which of God’s promises he might be offering me as a special gift to encourage my spirit? It’s true that there are a lot of details to consider, and it is good and right that I should do so. But it is not good and right to focus on those concerns to the extent that I neglect meditating on God’s word, which includes His promises.
What about you? Do you spend time focusing on your health, or your finances, or your relationships, yet fail to focus on God’s promises for you in those areas? I don’t know what challenges you face, but I do know that they may be very difficult. I also know that God wants to speak to you in the midst of your challenges and strengthen you, physically, spiritually, or emotionally.
You see, that is why He caused the biblical writers to include more than twelve hundred precious promises in their text. He wants us to know for sure that no matter what else is going on in life, we can count on Him for these things.
Twelve hundred promises. In fact, twelve hundred sixty. Twelve hundred sixty things God wants us to know but that we spend little time contemplating. I wonder how much it would change our lives if we spent more time considering these words of our Lord. How much would we be strengthened? How much would we be encouraged? How much would we be enlightened and reassured? How much more wise would we become? How much more secure? And even more importantly than that, how much more in love would we be with our precious God who gave us twelve hundred sixty promises about what He will do for us because He loves us?
Tonight, get out your Bible—or if you have a promise book (where God’s promises are gathered, usually by categories), use that. Spend some time meditating on them. Be in awe at how much your holy, omnipotent, God of all creation is promising you because He loves you. Ask Him if there is one particular promise (or more) that He wants to make especially relevant to you right now. Don’t forget to thank Him for His great and precious promises. And don’t forget to look for these rainbows all the time.
Genesis 9:15—I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.
2 Samuel 22:31—As for God, his way is perfect. All the LORD’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.