Circumstance or Promise?

Today's Old Testament reading struck me.

It came from Genesis 12, and the verses 1-4 were what was meaningful:
Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the Lord had told him.... (v. 9) And Abram journeyed on, still....


I don't know that I would have had as much courage in that situation as Abram did. God told him to go, pack up everything, and move on. The only certainty he had was God's promise. It was enough for Abram to go, and it saw Abram through.

Abram did not cling to any circumstance. He clung tightly to God's promise.

And then I got to thinking (and pardon me for the thought wandering during the service, but at least it was something related to the church service), that Noah only had a promise when God told Him to build the ark. Daniel only had a promise in the den of lions. Jesus only had the promise of God when He was sent to be crucified. And there are many other examples in Scripture I'm sure I could continue to list.

Abram and all of the people mentioned above are a great example for me, I wish that earlier in this journey I had clung to the promises rather than circumstances. For instance...

I was diagnosed with mental illnesses, so God must not care for me.
Everyone seems to be walking out of my life, so no one loves me.
It seems like I can't accomplish anything good anymore.

If I had clung to the promises of God rather than the circumstances I was stuck in, it may have changed my attitude and outlook.

I think about circumstances I'm facing and problems I still have despite my recovery.

And I am going to cling to a promise and not the circumstance.

And I am going to pray that anyone else involved can do the same.

You know, this reminds me of a student leaving home for school in the mornings. Before the child leaves the door, the mother must say, "Did you remember to pack your lunch?"

And I think it would be good to leave in the mornings for me to have a sign posted on my door that says, "Did you remember to pack a promise?"

What exactly are those promises?
God LOVES Me (John 3:16).
God gives me PEACE. (Isaiah 26:3).
God brings HEALING (Jeremiah 30:17)
God PROTECTS me (Psalm 91:10)
God promises LIFE (Revelation 21:4)

The list doesn't have to end there, because the Bible is filled with other promises to cling to. For every circumstance here on earth, God has a promise.

Looking back at the promises Abram was given in Genesis 12, he went on the journey with just those. Sometimes when I travel I fill several bags of stuff to take with me. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get any more into the car. I take a lot of baggage with me, thinking "Oh I MIGHT need this.." Or "I will probably NEED this..."  And I lose sight of where I'm going or why I'm even going there because of all the baggage I'm carrying.

And I think that life is sometimes lived that way, too. My baggage/illness tends to weigh me down, and I lose sight of the journey I am really on. All the baggage can be abandoned, and replaced with a promise.

I'm going to start packing a promise every day I leave. And not let circumstances rule over my life, but rather the promises of God, who loves me dearly. It's great to cling to the promises.