Psalm 145:19 (NLT)
“He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.”
This verse in Psalm 145:19 is very encouraging for those that have marriage on their minds. As single Christians, we can be crystal clear that God is faithful to His promises. For those who honor, love, and obey Him, it’s His Will to grant them the desires of their hearts. His promises are not filled with holes. We can depend on them with all that we are. He hears, He rescues, and He certainly delivers us from darkness and tribulation, because this is who He is. Romans 8:32(NLT) declares, “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” God is a God who blesses His people, but we can’t forget that as His people, we have a responsibility as well. Jesus Christ said in John 14:15 that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. Our commitment to do this will always give us the faith to see God’s promises come to pass in our lives.
In the mind of just about every sane and moral individual is an understanding that nothing is free, and everything has a price. Sin has a price, and the corporate sin of all human beings had an extremely high price. Jesus Christ paid it for us all and did so with his life. 1Corinthians 6:19-20(NLT) says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” Jesus paid the debt of our sin and redeemed us from satan’s realm of darkness. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages or cost of sin is death, and Jesus Christ paid it with his sacrifice on the cross.
A good parent will not raise a child to think that it’s okay to be an adult that always accepts things for free and never earns anything by working for it. God put Adam in the garden to tend it. Adam had work to do. This sets a Godly precedent for all those who sojourn on earth. Jesus Christ is in heaven preparing a place for us. He’s advocating for us in the courts of our Heavenly Father, so Jesus is working. 2Thessalonians 3:9-11(NLT) takes us to school on this by letting us in on the Apostle Paul setting the church straight. It says, “9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. 10 Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” Good works and a good work ethic is the mark of a true disciple of Christ. God commands us in Colossians 3:23(NLT), “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
Each of the twelve disciples that Christ called had to take up their cross and follow him. They had to leave everything behind and learn from him. He prepared them to carry on the work that he set in motion during his time here. We cannot think that we are greater than them. In truth, none of us have measured up to even a fraction of the good works and deeds that the disciples who walked with Christ did. We have infinitely more tools, technology, and knowledge, yet we do less.
God doesn’t punish us for this, but Galatians 6:2(ESV) warns, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” If you’re not doing the sowing according to God’s Will and Word, then you cannot reap. You can’t produce something out of nothing, but many of us have missed this spiritual lesson entirely, especially those of us praying to cross paths with our future spouses. We want him to be all we hoped he would be, yet many of us are not committed to be the same for God.
God promises in Psalm 145:19 that He will grant us the desires of our hearts, and He has done this. Now, it’s our responsibility to reach out and grab what He has granted, and we can’t do that if we lack the spiritual knowledge and strength to do so. Jesus Christ is our Big Brother, and God has called us to follow his example. We’re in our Heavenly Father’s family business, and our lives must reflect that we understand this and are actively pursuing His objectives. God hears and delivers, but we must listen and receive. We must grow more intimately in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is a relationship where we find great pleasure in talking to God. Our roots must grow deep into Christ, and this is achieved as we are obedient to God’s Word, and back our faith in Him by telling others about Christ and being a blessing to as many people that we possibly can.■
English Standard Version (ESV), The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God Hears and Delivers”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!