I promise. The weight of those words greatly depends on who is speaking. There is much to doubt when a politician utters them. We know well those in our lives that keep their promises and those that don’t. Every day, people will say, “I promise,” and fail to fulfill the promise. But there is one who always keeps his promises. And that one is God.
The Bible says, “For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen” to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20, CSB) God keeps His promises.
There is something to consider. While God always keeps His promises, they may not appear when we expect or how we envision them. That says more about us than God. Jesus taught, “Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:9–11, CSB) God knows our needs better than we know them ourselves.
We are going to begin a journey through God’s promises. That journey is planned to take six months. That’s a lot of promises! To explore God’s promises, we are leveraging the work of David Wilkerson called “The Jesus Person Pocket Promise Book.” It is a small book packed with 800 promises of God from the Bible. I carried and read that small book all through high school. It was a fantastic encouragement and foundation for me.
Why does God make promises? We have to get that right, or we will veer into witchcraft and try to manipulate God. The Bible says, “By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” (2 Peter 1:4, CSB) God’s promises are for one purpose – that we may “share in the divine nature.” Meaning that our thoughts, words, deeds, and attitudes would be more Christlike and less “me-like.”
There are a few things to practice as we explore God’s promises to His people. The first is to take these on their face; don’t read between the lines or add meaning that isn’t there. The second is to check ourselves. Is there sin in our lives? Is our attitude manipulative or greedy? Is there unforgiveness and bitterness? Those are arid soil for God’s promises to take root. The third is to do the do. If there is a condition to the promise, do it. And lastly, be willing to wait on the Lord. His promises are true, and the timing of when they are fulfilled is in His wise and loving hands.
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