By Brenda Cannon Henley
It is rather amazing to me to see how God works in our various lives. Folks that live by faith and truly rely on God and His promises to provide whatever is most needed in their lives always impress me. There are times when each of us feels our faith is perhaps low and needs to be recharged or powered up a bit, and our spirits feel saggy and out of sorts. God, in His infinite wisdom, sends along a good reading, a song with lyrics of meaning, a message from a pastor or teacher, a good word of advice or encouragement from a friend, and in some cases, something very teachable from your own child. I had such an experience today.

My daughter, DeAnna Stancil Davis, writes a blog entitled “In DeAnna Land…” People read her words and most often laugh and find something amusing. DeAnna works for the local airport/airline and has many funny travel/passenger stories to share. Today, when I read her words, I did not laugh, and I asked her if I might share her thoughts here in my column because I thought they are worthy and impressive. She told me that she heard something on the radio that gave birth to her writing. At the time I read her post, I was feeling somewhat discouraged and battle weary. Nothing specific was wrong, but yet, I was feeling defeated, tired, and simply out of ideas for bettering my life. This has been a strange and trying year for me.

Here is what DeAnna wrote – “In De Anna Land: I was listening to the radio this morning and heard these thoughts. Do you remember when God told Abraham to come outside his tent and to look up at the stars, to count them if he could, and then God promised Abraham that He was going to give him many descendants? The exact reference verse is Genesis 15:5.

I think it is amazing that God asked him to come outside the tent and look up at the sky. I am sure that Abraham got discouraged and I’m sure he was thinking that perhaps what God said is not going to happen. But, every time he walked out of his tent and looked up at the sky, he saw the beautiful stars and was reminded of God’s matchless promise.

Twenty years go by and Abraham and Sarah have a child.

I believe that all believers sometimes get discouraged. I have found that sometimes we forget God’s wonderful promises to us, and I think we need something to remind us and often. If you’re looking for a husband or wife, place an empty photograph frame by your bedside and tell the Lord every night, ‘Thank you for that new person that you’re going to bring into my life.’ If you don’t have any children and your heart’s desire is to have a baby, go out and buy a baby outfit and tell the Lord, ‘Thank You for the new baby that You are going to bring into our lives.’ If debt is weighting you down so that you cannot enjoy life, buy some Monopoly money and put it by your bed so that you see it often and tell the Lord, ‘Thank you for the money that You are sending. Some day, I will be the lender.’ thank you that one day I will be the lender.

We all tend to put our God in a box. Shame on us for limiting Him. He can do great and wonderful things for us and we simply need to be reminded. His promises are steadfast and true, and there are times when a simple reminder will help keep us on track. If you are discouraged today, for whatever reason, go out tonight and find a quiet spot and look at the stars and be reminded of God’s great love and His many promises to us.

We can follow up on Abraham’s story and see that his descendants really are numbered as the stars or the sand of the sea. References are found in Romans 4:18, Hebrews 11:12, Genesis 17:2, and Genesis 22:17, as well as many other Scriptures.

[September 14, 2015]

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788, at
[email protected], or by using the contact form below.

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