Let’s talk about God’s promises and whether they truly are too good to be true, how they work and what's their purpose
For our God, a promise has a meaning. A promise is a binding contract between Him and His children, one that He never breaks and always fulfils, even if it takes generations. He is a God of promises and never takes them lightly.
In fact, in total, there are roughly 8,810 promises of God in the Bible. And the very word promise is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible. So this territory is certainly not foreign for our Heavenly Father.
According to Victor Knowles*, ‘God's word itself is the same as a promise. Friedreich Wilhelm Krummacher said, "God's promises are, virtually, obligations that he imposes upon himself."’ Therefore the minute the Lord opens His mouth to speak to you, you can consider that a promise. He does not go back on His word, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant it may appear.
The Lord works in mysterious ways: how many times have you heard that one before? Yet the reason we say it so much is because of how true it is. And the same counts for His promises. They can be mysterious, full of confusion and sometimes even make us feel that much more pressured or overwhelmed. But that is never the Lord's intention.
We remain in the will of God as long as we are constantly seeking to fulfil the calling and promise He has called over our lives.
In 2 Peter 1:3-4, the Bible talks of how the Lord has ‘given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature’ (v 4, NIV). Therefore the Lord’s promises first and foremost work to make us more like Him. Then, in 2 Peter 1:10, we also learn that if we follow these promises and ‘make every effort to confirm [our] calling’, we will inevitably ‘never stumble’. That means we will always remain in the will of God as long as we are constantly seeking to fulfil the calling and promise He has called over our lives. Therefore, a promise not only predestines the power God wants to display over your life but also the status of your spiritual maturity as well as your eternal reward in Heaven.
Imagine a lighthouse on the coast. Shining brightly day and night, reaching up toward the skies and standing as tall as possible in order to ensure that anyone lost beyond the horizon can find their way back to the shore. That is the way a promise from the Lord works. He merely wants to speak the truth to us of who He created us to be. When He promises something, He doesn’t do it to tease but simply to guide us to where we need to be to receive it, as well as to fill us with the hope that the unknown we find ourselves in presently will not last forever.
When He promises something, He doesn’t do it to tease but simply to guide us to where we need to be to receive it.
Recently, I have received a big revelation of God’s promises and discovered how God can sometimes give us confirmation before He gives us the promise.
Let’s just say that in order to see His promises fulfilled, the Lord prepares the groundwork first. I’ll use myself as an example: the Lord gave me a promise recently that suggests my destiny is in the very palm of His hands.
My whole life I’ve believed that everything happens for a reason. And that is especially true when it comes to the Lord. No act of the Lord is meaningless, therefore everything we receive from Him or learn with Him is for a reason. On the other hand, another thing Jesus taught me about that beautiful belief is that not every single thing we go through or experience has the same level of meaning. Yes, it can mean that your life is about to change, or that you’re ready for the new, that a relationship can now begin to advance further etc. However, just because you don’t see a clear-cut obvious reason behind an experience, a particular word the Lord promised to fulfill for you, that does not mean He will not make it happen.
Even more so, not seeing a clear cut big reason for something doesn’t cancel out the experience you have either. It simply means that some days have deep profound meanings that take His promises to you to the next level of accomplishment. Then there are other days, where the Lord simply wants to make you smile.
Trust that the promise He makes you, He is faithful and just to complete it: giving you the promise of a role, relationship, responsibility, He is also the one to help you do it. He's not someone to give you a promise then watch you fulfil it yourself.
Our role is to remain patient and understand that there are certain things that will come to lift up that promise into completion and other days where the Lord just wants to remind you He loves you. And if that act of love is related to your promise, it’s that much more evident that Jesus knows you and that He’s working. But don’t be disheartened if you receive a great promise, hints of confirmation along the way, life lessons and blessings with it, and yet still find yourself in the waiting.
Confirmation is merely a tool to lift your faith along the way and not the final stage.
Enjoy the process of transitioning into the fulfilment of that promise, all whilst trusting that confirmation is merely a tool to lift your faith along the way and not the final stage. The Lord has prepared far more for you, and is preparing you for what’s to come.
As Christians a common thing we always do is overthink the future. This is because we have a God that knows the future and warns us to pray and intercede. We also gain incredible curiosity in our journey with God to know more of our destiny in Him. I’m certainly a culprit of that. And whilst we have a photo provider that loves sharing secrets with us, I’m here to also remind you to live in the moment. Stay in the present with the faith of knowing that if the Lord promised it, He can do it.
Believe the Lord’s promise and make yourself available to obey all the instructions that propel you further into your destiny and remember, if the Lord said so, it is so. He does not make mistakes: He can take the biggest mess and turn it into the biggest message.
* Promise and Fulfilment, Victor Knowles [https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1769&context=leaven]