Jo Bower's Blog

Romans 4:20

For Abraham never wavered in believing God. Indeed his faith grew strong and was a glory to God.,,

It seems a long time ago, in the middle of a faith crisis related to ministry, God promised strength and release.

Specifically, he promised me the high level of stress I was experiencing would not last the rest of my life. God would provide protection for my mental and spiritual health. Through the years he has kept that promise in varying degrees:

Several times, just as the job I held was beginning to require business abilities I did not have, God intervened. Each time God changed my husband’s place of ministry, the change has also been the best thing for my changing needs.

Not that those changes were endured casually or without trauma, but in our faithfulness, and in God’s faithfulness, God’s timing has been proven best for all involved.

And now changes have come that sees that long ago promise move to a new level of fulfillment. Now I have the ability to enjoy a new role as a person in the pew instead of part of a pastoral family and worship team. With that comes a narrowing of the number of people who are influenced by who I am, how I use my abilities, how I express myself, and the decisions I make. At the same time if my decisions are not always the best, fewer people are negatively impacted.

This stress-worry is something God and I have worked on for years. And in this change God’s timing and faithfulness has been as astonishing as ever.

Sometimes God changes our just inner lives, sometimes just our physical lives. And often, as the result of God’s work in one or the other, both are changed. However it is, God’s promises are not forgotten.

But I don’t think most of us take God’s promises with us as part of our daily lives. We visit them when we are worried, upset, grieving, facing upheavals, or are troubled. But we don’t let them dwell with us like we do things that we are trying to solve or what we are worrying about. We don’t take them out and examine them like we do a problem. And I think we should.

… Abraham never wavered in believing. I wish I could say that. Abraham didn’t always make the best decision, and sometimes he tried to help God’s promise hurry up to take place, but the scripture says he did not waver in belief.

God made me a specific promise, and I lost sight of it several times. And I must confess I almost lost sight of God’s role in helping me carry the load. You may be more like Abraham in trying to help God’s work along in your impatience to get things done. God will help you know where you get ahead of God’s fulfilling his promises.

But just as God is constant, his promises should be part of our daily lives. Let us not waver.