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What God Really Promises vs What We Think He Promises

A need for control

Confession: I have a control issue.

I want to know what’s ahead. I want to follow a well-laid plan with diligence. I want to live by checklists and benchmarks.

And quite honestly, I want life to be perfect. Put simply, I want Heaven on Earth.

As I wrote these words, God brought to mind this portion of scripture from Luke 17:21 “For you see, the kingdom of God is among you.” The kingdom is here and now, He is among us. We are called to live by faith.

A life lived by faith is unable to see all the steps ahead aligned just perfectly.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1.

When Fear Threatens My Faith

I live by systems and organization. In predictable areas of life, this serves me well. But in areas that require true faith, I find the more my fear grows, the tighter my cling to my ideals and desires.

Fear creates overreactions. Fear speaks lies. Fear uses language such as “what if”. And fear, at the end of the day, simply leads me down a path of attempting to control outcomes.

This is pointless, useless, and exhausting.

Fear never stops attempting to drive us. We don’t have to allow fear room in our lives. But we must recognize fear when it appears.

If we knew how everything worked out, would faith be required?

See, we don’t know how our futures will unfold. But we have our faith in a sure, steady God who gives us an entire book of promises.

Are we standing on His promises? Or are we holding hands with our fear?

What God does not promise.

  • life will be easy
  • life will be pain free
  • life will be look like IG
  • life won’t be filled with setbacks and heartbreaks
  • life won’t give us more than we have the strength to handle
  • life won’t break us
  • life won’t weary us

What does God actually promise?

  • when life is not easy, He’s holding us up with His righteous right hand.
    • “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
  • when life is painful, He is our Comforter.
    • He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 1 Corinthians 1:4
  • when life isn’t perfect, we wait for the perfection He’s creating for us. It’s not here. It’s in eternity.
    • “And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”’ Revelation 21:5
  • when life sets us back or breaks our heart, He supplies fresh mercy every day.

    • “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;
          great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
  • when life gives us more than we can handle, He gives us grace to handle it when we need it.
    • “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Cor. 12:19
  • when life breaks us, He heals us.
    • “But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was  bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
  • when life wears us out, He restores our souls. He carries our burdens.
    • “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3
    • “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” Psalm 68:19

Listen the the right Source

Don’t listen to the enemy. He tries to tell you God’s not good. God is good always. We live in a fallen, broken world. Jesus told us we’d face many troubles. And He told us to take heart because He overcame the world. Our only job is to remain in Him.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33


As you know, I am pretty passionate about keeping God’s Word before us. In a world filled with messages opposed to truth, it takes intention on our part to fix our eyes on Jesus. I’m adding a little at a time to my shop to offer you more ways to fill your home with truth, beauty, and goodness. On your next coffee break, take a moment to step inside and check out what we’ve been working on!

Here’s a tiny peek.