Promises of Jesus
A Five Minute Devotional
The video shown below is the devotional from March 9, 2021. The full text of the devotional follows the video.
WELCOME
Hello, my name is Ruth and I would like to welcome you to Today’s Good News, Ladies Edition.
INTRODUCTION
I would like to share a verse with a promise today. Matthew 28:20.
” teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. surely I am with you always, to the end of the very age.”
At this time, Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer had just been resurrected from the tomb. He was speaking to His beloved disciples who must have been full of all kinds of emotions. From fear and disappointment to hope and joy. And now at the end of this chapter Jesus was sending them out into the world.
LONELINESS
Have you ever been or are you right now, lonely? This reminds me of a story. A woman saw a lonely penguin wandering in the streets of Rosarito. She immediately took her to the nearest police station to ask for advice. “Officer, I found this penguin, what should I do?” The Officer recommended that the lady take the penguin to the Zoo. The woman said ok and left the police station. A couple of hours later, the police officer was looking through the window and saw the woman and the penguin, holding hands and walking down the street. He ran outside and asked the woman, “Didn’t I tell you to take that penguin to the Zoo? The woman replied, “I did take her to the Zoo. And now we are going to the movies!”
Seriously, we all experience loneliness at times in our lives. And the promise that Jesus gave His disciples that He would be with them always, even to the end of the age is also true for us today.
Do you remember the story of Hagar in the Old Testament? She was the Egyptian slave who had a child with Abraham. Abraham’s wife despised her and caused her so much trouble that Hagar ran away into the dessert. She was lonely and desperate with no one to take care of her. The Angel of the Lord came and spoke to her reassuring her that she would have a son and that God would multiply her descendants exceedingly. She named him Ishmael, meaning the Lord has heard my affliction. Then Hagar called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-are-the-one-who-sees.
NEVER ALONE
Ladies, our Loving Heavenly Father sees all that we are going through. He sees our loneliness in sickness. He sees our loneliness in our struggles with difficult relationships. He sees our loneliness in all of the trials we face.
There is one supreme moment of loneliness in History, so dark and deep that only Jesus has ever experienced. It was on the cross the moment He became sin for us. In that horrible, lonely moment, He felt forsaken by His Father and all those He loved. He was ravaged physically and spiritually. No one has experienced or understands the depths of loneliness like Jesus. But He can and does understand our loneliness. He can sympathize with our weakness more than we know. Jesus doesn’t merely understand our loneliness; He destroyed it. Because He bore the sin that alienates us from God and died on our behalf, we are no longer strangers or aliens, but we are fellow citizens with all the saints and members of God’s family. He is with us always. He never leaves our sides, not even for a moment. He has a purpose for all that happens in our lives. He can use our troubles to teach us powerful lessons to strengthen our faith. In the darkness, where nothing but the light of Jesus shines, He is teaching us to trust Him completely. When He tests us through the troubles of life, we need to trust in His promises.
STRENGTH TOGETHER
These times of doubt are when our faith is grown. We all want out, a quick escape. There are two things we can do. We can try to get rid of our troubles or we can recognize that our trials are challenges that will bring about blessings in our lives. So, when we are tempted to give up, we must remember that we are more than conquerors through God’s Son who loves us and will never leave us.
Deuteronomy 21:6 says,
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
And that Ladies, is today’s good news!
