Beth S.
My favorite Bible promise is:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Philippians 4:13 KJV
Bible Promise Impact on Me
With Christ as my Rock, I can weather all trials and temptations. Without Christ, I cannot overcome.
This Bible promise has always been my comfort and strength in Christ, knowing that with my faith in Him, I can and have overcome being molested as a child, alcohol, and drugs from the age of 10, and all that goes with it including rape, being pregnant and married at 16, and in a very physically and mentally abusive marriage. In His strength, I returned to Jesus and church in 2011.
Today, this is still my go-to verse, reassuring me that I can step out in faith, and in the strength of Jesus Christ I can indeed do all that Jesus asks of me — no matter how much it might intimidate me. I'm not a naturally outgoing person. I am very much an introvert.
Even so, I'm thankful I was raised in the church and had that foundation of faith and strength in Christ; otherwise, I never would have made it through all of that upheaval and returned to Christ.
Jesus is the answer, turn to Him, with Him all things are possible!
Joy K.
I love this Bible promise:
"Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'"
Isaiah 58:8-9a
What This Bible Promise Means to Me
My response to this Bible promise is, "Therefore, whom shall I fear?" If God's presence will be rising before me like the sun, coming from inside me, healing me, going before me, and also serving as my rear guard, then He's got this! I have nothing to worry about. I am also humbled and amazed that He is willing to respond to our call, saying to us, mere humans, "Here I am!" That is a stunning realization. This was the response of the very best prophets to God when God called, but here God is saying that He will respond to us in that same way. Simply amazing!
Bible Promise Impact on Me
The beautiful promise above is a conditional one. It is part of an "if...., then" setup — the "if" part of the conditional promise is essential for all of us to know and it comes in the preceding verses (before Isaiah 58:8) and says:
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
Isaiah 58:6-7 NIV
These verses are so powerful in giving us ALL a mission statement. Our collective mission is to serve the cause of justice, working on behalf of the oppressed. We're to be generous with the hungry and poor and yet not turn our backs on our families. This conditional promise has shaped my life work and shaped the ministry of FARM STEW. I first learned about Isaiah 58, while in college when God powerfully spoke to me and told me to look up Isaiah 58:8. Though I was a Christian, I did not know that Isaiah was a book in the Bible.
Twenty-plus years later, when I became Seventh-day Adventist, I found this powerful kinship with Ellen White in this quote:
"Read this chapter [Isaiah 58] carefully, and understand the kind of ministry that will bring life into the churches. The work of the gospel is to be carried by means of our liberality as well as by our labors. When you meet suffering souls who need help, give it to them. When you find those who are hungry, feed them. In doing this you will be working in lines of Christ's ministry...."1
I praise God that He referred me to the chapter first and that our prophet affirms my calling (and yours)! I now feel it is my calling to share it with others and I do so by sharing the FARM STEW recipe for abundant life!
Unless noted otherwise, scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture noted as NIV above is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Ellen G. White, Ministry To The Cities (Hagerstown, Maryland: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2012), 56.
