Author: Bellissiwarriors

For some immigrants, once they set foot on the American shore, their hopes were fulfilled. For others, a brighter future beckoned further on, deeper in. Their journey wasn’t over yet. They had to continue on past where others had found fulfillment to less traveled roads. Despite how far they had come, their destination remained far off, a dream on the horizon.

Our journey with Christ can be this way, too.  We accept wholeheartedly that God’s promises are true. We believe that He is a promise-keeper. And yet we see those promises, and we see our circumstances, and we wonder – are these promises even for me? Their fulfillment seems so far off, like an impossible dream, you can hardly imagine how you could ever get there. The journey feels too long, too hard, and from our limited perspective, it seems like we’ll never arrive at our destination.

In response, God invites us to see our journey from His unlimited perspective.

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Deuteronomy 31:8

Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. Joel 2:32

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

We cannot rely on our vision to get us to our destination because discouraging circumstances block our view and distort our perspective. Instead, it is faith that “gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1). It is precisely when we feel we can’t take one more step on the journey that faith reveals itself. The author of Hebrews describes a litany of people who had extraordinary faith. Then he goes on to say, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it” (11:13).

They believed even though the promise seemed far off. They kept moving towards it, closer to God. Their perspectives were changed. God “grew” bigger than their circumstances, dwarfing them until He filled their vision. When God assumed His proper proportions, their difficult circumstances shrank to their proper proportions as well. They didn’t move forward because they could see the destination. They moved forward because they could see God, and their unshakable confidence in who He is fueled them with hope.

The same can be true for us. We can draw close to God and allow Him to fill our vision and fuel our hope. Hope then allows us to run recklessly forward, believing that all that God has promised will surely be ours.

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!”

2 Corinthians 1:20

Are God’s promises for you?  YES!  Which of God’s promises are for you?  ALL OF THEM! How can you know this to be true? Because a baby was born in Bethlehem who was God-in-the-flesh. Because an innocent man was put to death on the Cross. Because the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty on Easter morning. Through His life and death and resurrection, Jesus testified that God will never fail or abandon you, that He offers salvation to everyone who recognizes their need for Him, that His intentions towards you flow from a heart wants the very best for you.

May we have eyes of faith and feet put into motion by hope. May we move with courage into the unknown because He fills our vision and we know He is our final destination.

One of the highlights of visiting Ellis Island is the Great Hall. This is where hopeful passengers met with the immigration inspectors. Walking through the building, it’s easy to imagine the chaos of boatloads of people, the cacophony of voices in many different languages, the push and press of unwashed bodies eager to have their name recorded in the registry book so they could pass through to begin a new life.

My own ancestors’ names are recorded in those registry books. Standing in that vast hall, it’s amazing to think that they once stood in the same place, probably exhausted, perhaps a bit anxious, certainly full of hope and anticipation. I’ve heard stories from my mother’s generation about those great’s who took a chance on the new world. Although I’ve never met them, those people live on through their stories. And so when I stand in the Great Hall at Ellis Island, I can imagine them there. When I see their names in the registry book, I remember them.

Sometimes reading a history book can seem like nothing more than a big list of names, dates and places. Separated from their person, from the life they represent, they’re meaningless words on a piece of paper. But when you come across a name whose story you know, then there’s a thrill of excitement. Hearing it brings to mind the person, your memories, your feelings. Remembering brings a smile to your face.

In the book of Esther, we read of Mordecai, a Jewish man who lived in Babylon, where he had been taken as a captive. At one point, he exposed a plot to murder the king and passed the information on to his niece (who happened to be Queen Esther).  The king was saved, the court historian wrote it down, and that was the end of the story (Esther 2:23). Until one night much later, when the king couldn’t sleep and he asked his servants to read him the history of his kingship. Instead of helping him drift off to sleep, tonight’s reading woke the king up – “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” (Esther 6:3) The king had forgotten about Mordecai, but when he heard Mordecai’s name read from the book, he remembered. When the king remembered, Mordecai was honored, and his enemy was put to shame.

Maybe you’re secretly afraid that God has forgotten about you, that He doesn’t see you, that He thinks you’re just another name on the list. Maybe you’re worried that He hasn’t checked the Book lately and remembered you when He saw your name written there.

In Isaiah God says, “I will not forget you” (49:15). Now if I call to mind my great-grandparents, who I never met, and get excited when I see their names on a dusty old government form, how much more excited does God – who knows you intimately, who knit you from the inside out – get when He thinks of you?

This is what God says next: “I have written your name on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me” (Isaiah 49:16). No, weary traveler, God will not forget you. He says you are always before Him. You’re always on His mind. How could you not be? Your name isn’t just written on the palms of His hands – it was engraved there when they were pierced by the nails as He bore your sins on the Cross.