17

I will not treat you as your sins deserve

Psa 103:10-12 è He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 

This passage is a very clear comparison of justice versus mercy. Justice demands the prescribed punishment for an offense (e.g. justice requires that a murderer be given a life sentence or be executed, in accordance with the laws of the land. Letting the murderer go free would not be justice.)  Mercy, on the other hand, is when the prescribed punishment is bypassed and replaced with forgiveness and a removal of the remembrance of the sin, because Jesus has already bore them and suffered the punishment for them on the cross.     

This passage praises the magnitude of God’s mercy – something we all should be grateful for every day.

18

Nothing can separate you from my love

Rom 8:38-39 è For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When we come to realize the enormity of God’s love and mercy for us, we should naturally want to do all that we can to please Him. What a comforting thought for us to know that as long as we remain faithful to Christ and his law, we can continue to enjoy God’s steadfast love.

We should regularly be thanking God for his great love for us in our prayers.

19

I will keep you in my hand

Joh 10:27-28 è My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 

Once again we see that the gift of eternal life is contingent upon our hearing (and obeying) Christ’s words and following his commands in our daily lives.

Jesus assures us here that Satan will not be allowed to snatch us out of our Savior’s hand – which is where we should desire to stay.

20

I will give you strength and protection

2Th 3:3 è But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 

The word establish here carries the following meaning: to make stable, set fast,  to strengthen, make firm, to render mentally steadfast, to stand immovable

Although God does not promise that we will never have temptation, He promises here to strength us so that we can resist that temptation. And He guards us from situations that we are not strong enough to bear.

21

I will give you wisdom

Jam 1:5 è If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 

Webster defines wisdom:  In Scripture theology, wisdom is true religion; godliness; piety; the knowledge and fear of God, and sincere and uniform obedience to his commands. This is the wisdom which is from above.

This is the wisdom God wants us to have (not worldly “wisdom”), and if we find ourselves lacking it, we should ask God for it in prayer, and set our mind to doing our part to obtain it, through God’s Word. God promises to help us in gaining this wisdom.  

22

I will guide you on the right path

Pro 3: 5-6 è Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

It’s interesting that Solomon, a man who had more understanding than any other fully human man on earth, advises his readers to NOT rely on their own understanding. Solomon knew that even his great wisdom could not compare to God’s.

There are 3 separate conditions to this promise (trust, lean not and acknowledge). If we want God to direct our path (i.e. way of living), we must trust and acknowledge Him and not rely on our own limited knowledge (contrary to the advice of worldly ones).    

23

I will do good works through you

Eph 2:10 è For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 

Knowing this should give us a sense of purpose in life. We are not here just to secure our own happiness (as the world would have us believe), we were created to do good works for our fellow man and especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

One of the most important of these “good works” is to teach people the truth of God’s Word. And there are many other good works that we can involve ourselves in, we just have to use our imaginations and take advantage of the opportunities we are  given.   

24

I will help you to persevere

Rom 5:1-5 è Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

God promises here to give us His peace, grace, hope and love. But we must be willing to go through some tribulations, without complaining and self pity, knowing that each difficult situation can be an opportunity to learn and to grow stronger in our patience and our trust in God.

As we go through our afflictions, we can get a better appreciation of the much more severe physical affliction that Jesus went through on the day of his crucifixion. If we have the proper wisdom and attitude during our afflictions. we can develop a closer and more grateful relationship with Jesus for what he went through for us.     

25

I will give good things to those who love Me

Rom 8:28 è And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

David Lipscomb said this about the phrase “according to His purpose”: God determined that man should be called by the gospel; hence, to be called according to God’s purpose is to be called by the gospel. In speaking of this call, Paul said: But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2Th 2:13-14)

26

I will bless you

Mal 3:10 è Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 

Matthew Henry makes this note: The people brought some; but, like Ananias and Sapphira, they kept back some pretending they could not spare so much as was required. But God must be served first, and our quota must be contributed for the support of religion in the place where we live, that God's name may be sanctified, and his will be done, even before we provide our daily bread; for the interests of our souls ought to be preferred before those of our bodies.

If our hearts are in the right place and we cheerfully desire to support and grow the church here on earth through liberal monetary contributions, our offering will be pleasing to God, and he will bless us.   

27

I will hear you

1Jn 5:14-15 è Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 

Guy N. Woods notes in his commentary that: The Father wills for us only that which is for our good. If we, through ignorance, greed, avarice or some other evil motive, ask for that which we should not have, the Father, in kindness, withholds it.

E.M. Zerr echoes this when he notes: The proviso “according to his will” is important and shows that we are not at liberty to make just any kind of wild request and expect God to grant it.

28

I will meet your needs

Php 4:19 è And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Some people have trouble distinguishing between “wants” and “needs”. God has not promised to give us everything we want, but he has promised to give us all that we need. And if you really get down to the root level, our needs are pretty simple. Our wants, on the other hand, can get rather extravagant at times.

29

I will guard your heart and mind

Php 4:6-7 è Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Barnes explains:  Be not anxious or solicitous about the things of the present life. This does not mean that we are to exercise no care about worldly matters - no care to preserve our property, or to provide for our families; but that there is to be such confidence in God as to free the mind from anxiety, and such a sense of dependence on him as to keep it calm.

Peace is a rare and valuable commodity in today’s world. People try to achieve it through a variety of ways (wealth, drugs, relationships etc.), all of which are temporary at best or completely elusive at worst. True and abiding peace can only be achieved by totally surrendering to God’s will and putting your complete trust in Him. That peace will guard our hearts and minds from anxiety and fear.

30

I will be patient with you

2Pe 3:9 è The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 

Strong defines slack as: to be slow, to delay

Thayer gives some helpful definitions of longsuffering:

- to be patient in bearing the offenses and injuries of others - to be mild and slow in avenging - slow to anger, slow to punish.

God is timeless - He exists outside the limitations of time, so what may seem like a very long time to us is not seen by God as such. (cf.  2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.)

God knows how stubborn humans can be and he knows our tendency to procrastinate and to cling to religious traditions (whether or not they are based in truth) . He wants to give us every opportunity to come to know and obey Him. But He will never force us – we must take the first step.