God Does What He Says

“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19 NIV)

Dealing with vicissitudes

I love the word vicissitudes! I first ran across it in an old TV guide when I was a teenager, explaining what a movie was about. It said, “This movie is about a young man dealing with vicissitudes.” I didn’t understand what that meant, so I looked it up in the dictionary: “Vicissitudes are changes that happen at different times during the life or development of someone or something, especially those that result in conditions being worse.” Simply put, vicissitudes are the ups and downs of life. The word pretty much describes everybody’s condition in the world we live in because everyone must deal with one thing or another in the normal course of life. There are no exceptions. That’s because we all live in a fallen world, in an imperfect body, filled with imperfect things and imperfect people, all as a result of sin. Jesus said it this way: “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV). He gives both the problem and the solution in the same statement, saying that yes, you will face problems in this world, but you can be happy that Jesus has taken care of them for you! And how does He do that, you may ask? He sent the Holy Spirit to help you, and He reminds you of His words and promises found throughout the Scriptures to help you (See John 14:26). 

This changed my life!

When I got ahold of the promises in the Bible many years ago, it changed everything for me. It was like winning the lottery because there are thousands of them in the Bible from cover to cover. No matter what happens in my life, there are multiple promises there to cover it. Therefore, I look them up every day and apply them by faith. The promise at the top, for instance, declares several remarkable truths about God: He does not lie; he is truthful. He does not change his mind; he is faithful. He always does what he says (takes action). And He does what he says (he fulfills his promises). In other words, He is faithful to His word and will help you through your vicissitudes!

 Therefore

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 29:23 ESV)