The OTHER Promises

Not all of God's promises are for great and wonderful-sounding things. Ya know that promise that says "…take heart; I have overcome the world"? It sounds so victorious! But it also comes right after a promise of troubles. John 16:33 says "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (emphasis mine). In fact, The New Living Translation describes it as "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows." Oh GOODY! Sign me up for THAT promise!!!

Or not.

What do we do with promises like that? What do we do when it feels like that's the ONLY promise he's keeping?

Ya know how you don't ask for patience, unless you want trials? Don't ask to trust God in the tribulations unless you're ready for some tribulations! Even this week, as I knew this was a topic I wanted to tackle, there were some things that came up at work that felt like tribulations – the enemy shaking his fist at what we do to make sure boys and girls get to hear the Gospel message. In the scheme of things, it's quite trivial. I haven't had to know the pain of losing a child, or walked through an excruciating divorce, or survived the abuse of someone who was supposed to love me. And maybe some of you can join me in that status. But not one of us has survived (or will survive) life without trouble. It's promised. Sometimes I wish He'd have kept that promise out of the Bible. Even a "MAYBE you'll have tribulation" would have been better. Instead, we live in this world fraught with evil and, as a result, rampant pain. So let me say here, this promise is true, no matter the degree of your tribulation that you're going through right now. There is hope to come, in connection with this promise, so don't shut IT out, even if your tribulation is a hang-nail. Okay, well, if a hang-nail is stressing you out, we may need to sit down and have a DIFFERENT conversation, but hey…

There are some basic truths that we can know about God… things that we USUALLY learn first in the middle of a trial that is more akin to a hang-nail than the loss of a spouse. Things that God teaches us through the first few trials that we can start to realize will apply to more difficult trials at a deeper level. As I remember going through one of the trials I've been through, I was seeking the counsel of my good friend. She's the kind of friend that will tell me what I NEED to hear, even if it isn't what I WANT to hear. She told me that this trial was helping to mature and grow me for the future. I remember telling her "if THIS is preparing me for what comes next, I don't WANT what comes next!" But her comment challenged me. I could either embrace the training that God was providing for me, or I could simply survive the experience. I chose to embrace it, despite the pain. Any bitterness or efforts to "demand" to understand WHY God would let this happen to me faded away, and I chose to draw closer to my God. There have even been some tangible evidences later of how God chose to use that trial in my life. But we don't always get to see that evidence this side of heaven. And that's where we have to believe his promise. Both the promise that there will be trouble, AND the promise that He has overcome the World.

Have you ever thought about the story of Esther as anything other than a sweet story about a princess being brave and God rescuing his people? I've been listening lately to Alistair Begg's sermon series on Esther, and there have been some mind-blowing things to learn in the process. First, though, if you really put yourself in the sandals of Mordecai, or the slippers of Esther, you can see how they might relate to this promise from John 16:33. Knowing that they were facing the annihilation of their entire race on the appointed day, knowing that they were facing death at varying times for honoring their commitment as God's people more than their allegiance to the king, they had an idea of what it meant to be facing tribulation. Begg said "The providences of God are seldom self-interpreting and it's usually wrong for us to try and understand what's going on in the immediacy of the moment." We often feel that all we have is the immediacy of the moment. We try and figure out what God might be doing through this time, as a small comfort to WHY he would "MAKE US" go through this trial. We don't have God's eternal perspective, we don't understand His purposes. And we might NOT ever understand that. But it doesn't change the fact that He IS God, He IS Sovereign, and it's his right to deal with us frail sinners, saved only by his mercy in the first place. But another quote that grabbed my attention is this: "God is sovereign in all of those details, and most of our understanding will be seen by looking in the rear-view mirror rather than looking through the windscreen."

 
I DON'T understand. I DON'T have the rear-view mirror perspective YET. But I can trust the God who promised there would be troubles. Because He is ALSO the God who said the REST of that verse: "But take heart; I have overcome the world". TAKE HEART! The Amplified Bible says "but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]!" Why can we have that courage and confidence? Because he has "deprived it of power to harm you and [has] conquered it for you." I read the back of the book, and HE WINS! Does that mean I won't have any problems in the here and now, since, of course, He won the battle already? Nope. He JUST made the promise that you WILL have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration. But in the end HE WINS!

 
So what does that mean for me right now, in the middle of my trial? I cling to his promises. I remember that this won't last forever, because He HAS won. I remember that My God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory. I remember that I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength (if you want a good place to find a few promises, check out Philippians 4!).

 
I love this meme that came across my screen a few weeks back:




 

So I come to the question we must face whether it's a nightmare situation, or just getting slightly uncomfortable. Am I going to embrace God, and value this training he is bringing me through? Or am I going to waste all my time begging him to take away this trial that he already promised would come? How about you? Don't worry, it's still okay to ask God to take it away, as Jesus did in the garden, but we usually get stuck at that spot, and keep kicking and screaming all through the trial, when all the time He wants to draw us close.

This is such a deep topic that has taken VOLUMES for others to fully develop: I would love to explore this even more in your comments. For now though, let's "bring it home" with one last passage to dwell on.

James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

* For comforting music during trials explore Sovereign Grace's album "Come Weary Saints". Most of the songs are available on youtube as well. 

The Promise Maker

 
Let's ponder a hypothetical situation for a moment. Let's say I call you up on the phone, and tell you that you didn't realize it before, but I had sponsored a drawing between all readers of this blog. Let's say I had chosen a random reader to receive a lump-sum gift of one million dollars. Though there might be a flash of hope and a temptation to start dreaming of how you might spend that million dollars, the more sensible you would quickly start doubting. If you know me at all, your first question would be "where did YOU get a million dollars to give me?" If you REALLY knew me, you'd expect some kind of prank. Though I might be teasingly offended that you would doubt my offer, neither one of us would truly believe my "promise".
Why would you doubt my ability to follow through on my promise? Because you know me, my capabilities, and my character. In truth, if you really know me and my scatter-brained-ness, you'd probably have reason to doubt the promise of a simple phone call!
We learn from experience with people in our lives to be skeptical of promises. If someone has done more to earn my trust, I may actually count on them to keep their promises. After a disappointment, though, I'm reluctant to fully trust – I make sure that I have a back-up plan, just in case their best efforts fall short. Sometimes I reserve my hopes until more evidence is disclosed that their promise really WILL be kept. I'll admit, sometimes I'm actually quite jaded in my outlook on life. Having been gullible one-too-many times, I try to protect myself by not fully trusting (just wait til my brothers are around, and I don't even walk around a corner without checking to make sure they don't have a surprise waiting for me!).
These are mostly healthy responses to life and the people in it. But how often will my responses to humans be identical as my response to God? When GOD says he will always be with me (Hebrews 13:5), do I project the same qualities onto Him, as I do to my friend or family member? Maybe my friend said she'd be there for me no matter what, but when I need someone to talk to, she has family obligations that demand her attention, and my needs are (rightfully) placed behind theirs on her priority list. Do I then subconsciously assume that when God says HE'LL be there, HE really means that He'll be there for me unless someone else with a bigger need or higher on his priority list needs him more? How does that change my actions? Will I neglect prayer at a time of trouble, because it's not THAT big of a deal? Will I try to solve those "little" problems by myself and in my own power? How else might this change my behavior?

A promise is only as good as the promise maker.

Who IS this God who makes these promises? Who is the one who says He will never leave me nor forsake me? Who is the one who says he will supply ALL my needs according to his riches in glory? Is this just one more person who will let me down?
Let's think about this God for a moment.
This God is the same one who introduced himself to Moses and the Israelites as "I AM".
This is the same God who isn't even mentioned in the book of Esther, yet is the main character, having rescued an entire nation using a beauty pageant and sack cloth.
This is the same God who stopped time for three hours so that he could provide victory for the Israelites.
This God is the same God who challenged Job with the question "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" in Job 38.
This is the same God who used an earthquake to preserve the lives of his apostles in prison.
This is the same God who used kings, shepherds, and prostitutes to keep his PROMISE of a Messiah.
So… ya wanna tell me again why you don't think he can handle keeping his promise to provide for all your needs? Oh yeah, and while you're at it, why can't he handle being "there" for you 24-7?
I ask these questions tongue-in-cheek, as it's a challenge to me, too. It's easy to SAY that God is powerful enough to do anything. I mean, what are the first "Sunday School answers" that you learn? "Who does God love? EVERYBODY?" Then, "what can God do? ANYTHING!!!!" But how do you apply this in your own life? Here's my challenge for you. Go through the promises that he brings to mind (use our small list on the side bar as a starting point), and make a confession to God. Tell him that "I know that you CAN handle this." Oh, and here's a bonus for you: Read through your worry list… er, uh, prayer list (just kidding – I KNOW that not all your prayers are worries). The catch is, that after every prayer request, have a heart-to-heart with God, confessing "I know that you CAN handle this". No, it doesn't mean he's gonna handle it that way that you want him to handle it, but have you been limiting God, and then acting on that limitation? Don't worry, I'm not one of those self-talk, name-it-and-claim-it promoters – if you got THAT out of this challenge, I've messed up big time! Rather, this is your challenge to take those doubts that you've had, whether consciously or otherwise, and face them – REPLACE THEM with the truth. This week as God brings to mind another promise or two, ask him to help you to truly trust Him to keep that promise.
Maybe this has challenged you. If you're really honest with God, you'd confess that you DON'T know that He can keep his promises. Maybe someone has hurt you before in such drastic fashion that you don't think that you CAN trust him. Here are two things that you need to know. 1. He still keeps his promises whether you can trust Him or not. And, 2. You can be honest with him – admit that you don't trust Him – but don't stop there: ALSO ask for his help TO trust him. I'm thinking that's a prayer to which he'll answer a hearty "yes!"
I'll wrap this up with a song that Duane and I have obsessed over on occasion. I believe the lyrics come heavily from the book of Job, where after all of the struggles of Job and his friends, God finally answers them. He answered with even more questions than I'VE proffered today, but as we sing these words, it can't help but culminate in heart-felt worship of the greatest promise maker AND keeper of all time. Would you watch this video and worship with me?

 

Participating in His Divine Promises

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:3-4

Welcome to my theme passage! These verses and their surrounding context have SO MUCH to teach me! There is so much depth and application to this passage that today will only afford one small tip of the iceberg. I'm sure I'll be revisiting it through the coming months to explore some of its other impactful truths. For today, though, let's just look at a promise that it offers, and how to apply such promises to our lives.

I distinctly remember the first time this passage had significant impact on my life. I was going through a really dark time in my life, where I felt so inadequate for life and ministry that I didn't want life to continue. A trusted friend and counselor took me to those verses, and asked me to read it over a few times, thinking about their meaning. At first, I was not quite sure what in the world they would have to do with me and my frustrations. I thought they were nice verses, but what impact were they supposed to have on my life? I can't say that I discovered this great 3-step program by which I could take any promise in the Bible and transform my life. Rather, it was a slow, painful, bumpy road to do this, but gradually the truth of these verses began to permeate my thoughts, change my pattern of thinking, began to impact my attitudes and, finally, my actions. During that year, I went from wanting to end my life to gaining the confidence in God that allowed me to take on one of the biggest challenges of my life: stepping out in faith as a missionary to deepest-darkest Klamath Falls where I had no home, no car, no office, no church family, few friends, very little active ministry, and no experience as a director.

So how do we take a promise – and apply it to our lives?

Evaluate the Context of the Promise

First of all, consider the passage itself. Think about the context, and determine that it is indeed a promise, or at least a truth that might as well be a promise. This particular one, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness", sometimes seems to me more like Peter is just saying matter-of-factly that this is true, rather than offering a promise from God "God is telling you he's going to give you everything you need". I'm not sure if I'm expressing the distinction clearly or not, but let's just come back to the main point – this isn't just a nice principle of something that is generally, but not always true as a promise to which you may cling (like many of the Proverbs are found to be). It's also not an instruction or command – "you should (enter appropriate behavior here)". It's not a prophecy – "Someday you will have everything you need". I should pause here, though, and remind us that many/most promises ARE future-tense, and we just have to trust that they WILL be true, even if we can't see proof right now. In MY thought process (for what it's worth), I really do see this more as a statement of fact, rather than a promise. Whether it's a statement of fact, though, or a promise, it's something unseen, but true, and needs to be integrated into my life. So will you humor me, and hang on for the ride?

Evaluate the Conditions of the Promise

Secondly, ask yourself if there are any conditions that must be met – Is there something I must do or be, in order for this promise to apply to me? This passage is written "To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:"(v.1) – so indeed, Peter is talking to me IF I'm a believer. By the way, that's a quick tip – if you're reading in the epistles, the letters, of the New Testament, you'll often find that context within the first few verses of the book, where the author greets his audience. It also pays to learn the main audience of some of the other books of the Bible, too – even the gospels were written with a specific audience in mind, whether Luke was writing more to the Greek audience, or Matthew, who (if I remember right) was mainly addressing the Jewish audience. Nevertheless, in this situation, this truth/promise is written to the believer – i.e. ME!

Evaluate What the Promise Meant to the Original Recipient(s)

Okay, now we can start looking at what this promise meant to the audience to whom it was written. Remember that Peter was writing this to believers, but the main drive of this whole letter is to equip these believers to know that they are saved, but even more, that they would be able to discern and be wary of false teachers that would steer them away from that salvation. It seems to me that Peter was trying to help them know and trust His promises, and especially those of salvation. With that in mind, they needed to be ready to live like it (see the following verses, where they are challenged to live by faith with virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love). So Peter told them that they had everything they needed for life AND godliness – so not just eternity, but to live a godly life now.

Begin to Apply the Promise to YOUR Life

With THAT further context, NOW we can start to apply it to ourselves. I can see that God HAS GIVEN me everything that I need to live the godly life that He is asking me to live. So now I know that fact. How does it go from a fact that I KNOW in my head, to a truth that impacts my life? This is one time where I envy the child who hears a promise from God. A child seems to almost automatically take such a truth that is taught to him and act like it's true, because he fully believes that it IS true. Us as adults often have developed a further filter taught by the hard-knocks of life that brings doubt, habits to overcome, peer pressure, and general rebellion. Not that kids don't have some of these same struggles, but often they have fewer of these, or at least are faster learners! Instead, I have a much longer process of taking this from truth to life-change – a process that will continue until heaven, I believe.

This won't be a perfect example, but let's walk through the process from me at the age of 23 when I started this process (at least as humans see it – God was working on me long before, I'm sure!). At 23, I was involved in full-time ministry. I loved God, I loved kids, I loved the challenge of ministry. But fear of failure was so much a part of my life, that each week when I would do the most challenging part of my job – demonstrate that week's Bible lesson for the Good News Club teachers – I would end up with headaches and tummy-aches, and generally HIGH STRESS. I would think about these teachers – some of whom had been my teachers as a child, others who were the "experts" on various parts of the lessons, and then think about me – this young whipper-snapper, who knew HOW to do it, but just couldn't get it to come out perfect. I would make a mistake – I don't even remember now what mistakes, or how drastic they were – and at that point, my thoughts would begin to spiral downward – first I would think about that mistake, and how awful it was. Then I would begin to think that made me an awful missionary. Then I would decide that that made me an awful Christian. Then I would begin to feel like that made me a terrible representative for my godly parents and family and church family. So of course that made me a miserable human being. So why should I hurt everyone else by living any longer, and then… you get the idea. I didn't understand the spiral concept at that time, but later another dear friend helped me to see that with that spiral of thoughts, the further I let it go, the faster the thought process would spiral into lies, faulty thinking, and eventually behavior based on those lies and faulty thinking.

Take Every Thought Captive

Instead, I began to learn that I had to "take every thought captive." 2 Corinthians 10:5 says ^"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ". Is a thought that says I'm an awful missionary true? In my own strength, of course. But what is the TRUTH? THAT is the key question. If my thoughts are truly obedient to Christ, what will my thoughts be? First, that mistake probably wasn't as bad as I made it out to be, knowing my tendency at that time to take things out of proportion. Even if it was though, using our promise as a backdrop, I can look at the situation and say that if God has given me everything I need for life and godliness, then apparently, even at that moment that I messed up, God had provided everything I NEEDED. Sure, I wanted it to be PERFECT (in my eyes, at least!), but did GOD have those same expectations? He IS a God of order, He himself is Holy and perfect, and that's what I strive to live, but GOD, for his reasons, DID make sure that I had everything I needed in order to live that godly life at that moment. I could postulate that maybe he was using my mistake to encourage a weaker teacher, or that it was to help ME to learn to do better, or… but with or without that heavenly perspective of the WHY He would allow it, I could choose to trust Him.

Begin the Upward Spiral – Replace the Lies with the Truth

So let's take the spiral the other direction, instead of rapidly spiraling downward with the lies that I would choose to believe, what could this process look like? Instead of that first thought of how awful the mistake was, I can look at the truth. It wasn't perfect, but I can go one of two directions with this. Asking myself for the truth, I can ask if it was my best effort. If it wasn't, and it was because of my foolish lack of preparation, I can go one direction with it – confessing any sin, repenting, and asking for God to graciously use it for His glory despite me, and for the sake of His name, and still not spiral downward. For today's conversation though, let's assume that I wisely used the time that I was given, prepared diligently, and still messed up. Here I can choose to take that thought captive. When I start to think that that mistake makes me an awful missionary, I must take that thought captive, and replace it with the truth: "God gave me everything I need for life and godliness". To carry that thought to the next level of the upward spiral, I can be confident that any mistakes I made are under His control. Then I can realize that He allowed it, and perhaps there's an opportunity for me to grow from that mistake (consider what I can do to do better next time). Then I can thank God for choosing to use me despite of and within my humanness. Then I can be prepared and cheerfully watching for the next opportunity to serve as a missionary, confident that God will use me. Then in that next opportunity, I can avoid trembling in fear, but watch for how else I can serve others. How different this spiral looks!

Repeat

I'd love to say that this is an instant change, but the reality is that five minutes or five days later, I will probably start to think about that mistake or another, and threaten to spiral downward yet again. Again I must take that thought captive. Again I must continue to fill my mind with the truth. And again I must ask for His help to believe it. Eventually the truth about those mistakes will be my foundational response, not a struggle to believe, as a new habit is formed.

So here's my challenge for you: what Bible truth or promise is God reminding you of? Will you ask Him to help you learn how to spiral upward this week, taking those thoughts captive, and replacing them with His truth?

His NAME is a Promise!

GUEST BONUS BLOG

My husband, Duane, had to write a journal entry for his class at Multnomah University, where he is a student. What he wrote fits in so well with what we're talking about that I thought I'd add a Bonus Blog this week, written by my favorite (and only!) husband, Duane Tucker. Enjoy!

Cora, my wife, is writing a personal blog as she is studying and preparing to teach at a women’s retreat this fall.  Her chosen topic is on the promises of God and how they apply to the believer.  Some of the promises in the Bible do not apply to Christians, like the promise to Sarah to give birth to Isaac at her advanced age.  However, there are other verses in the Bible like Hebrews 13:5, which are promises for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ.  These promises are because God is Sovereign and it is His prerogative to grant us His Grace and Mercy as He chooses.  The Apostle Paul is always brought to mind, when he cried out to God to grant him his petition to have the ‘thorn in his side’ removed.  God’s choice was to say no and leave it there so Paul would have to rely on Him for his strength and faith.  That promise of “My grace is sufficient for you” is the kind of promises she is seeking out as these promises relate to God’s sovereignty.  Therefore, it was with great excitement that in the book, A Survey of Israel’s History by Leon J. Wood, God’s name was explained to a greater understanding about His sovereignty.  On page 97, Woods writes:

He also gave Moses the name of God that he was to tell the Israelites (Ex 3:13-14).  Translated “I AM,” it is the first-person form of the verb hayah (“to be”), the verb from which (in the third person) the name Yahweh comes.  The simplest understanding of the meaning of this name is “I am”—or, in the form Yahweh, “He is.”

Various attempts have been made at explaining its significance, but the best seems to be a promise of God’s faithful presence with His people.

The footnote added additional information that added more excitement to the quote as it explained that in the name Yahweh it renders to the definition of “I am the God who will be there,” stressing the name as a promise of God’s dynamic, active presence.”

The excitement is the name of God, as it is a promise to be in the life of the believer, always.  As the name “I AM” by its very inference says, God was before time, God is here with us in time, and God is after time.  This is still a concept that is difficult in getting a grip on or comprehending.  So use the analogy of holding your hands, palm up, & side by side, then look at them as God might see them.  In those hands, “I AM” created time.  He started time, He knows the end of time, so He knows what happens at every point in time, because “I AM” created time.  Try to wrap your mind around that, and then say you do not think God is Sovereign.  Right …

The Connection between Faith and Promises

As many of my friends know, I struggle with frequent sinusitis, and lately have been in a bout of nearly 2 months, struggling with symptoms. I even went to the doctor last week, and she prescribed some medicine designed to help me to get better. Of course, I started taking it immediately, and have gradually been feeling better. The immediate effect on me, though, was that I had hope, and knew with this medicine, it was likely that I would be feeling better soon! What a relief!

Now, let’s consider what would happen with a slightly different scenario. I go to the doctor, she gives me the prescription, and I walk out the door, never stepping foot into the pharmacy to get my medicine, much less take it. It remains sitting on the shelf at the pharmacy – it exists, it still is potent, but it has no impact on my symptoms. Friends who care about me would be quite frustrated, wondering why I wouldn't just go take the medicine!?

Of course the analogy will break down, the further you take it, but consider the connection. We have the best “Doctor” ever, who has offered medicine (i.e. the promises of His Word that will ALWAYS work!), and yet we so often leave those promises sitting on the shelf – in His Word, and we never apply them to our lives. What is the effect on our lives? Are those promises still potent? Definitely. In fact, those promises that are not conditional – in other words, they don’t require an action or attitude on our part – will actually still be true in our lives. But we’ll miss out on a major part of the life He offers.

The first part we miss is those conditional promises. Conditional promises like 1 John 1:9 come to mind. This week, I did something that was a flagrant sin to my Lord. I knew it, and He knew it. And he made sure I was convicted of it. Thanks to my child-hood Good News Club teacher, I have memorized 1 John 1:9, so I certainly know that God has promised in that verse that if I confess my sins, he will forgive me. But now I have two choices. I could continue on, without taking the medicine of God’s promise, wallow in my sin, and feel guilty. Very easily, this would turn into a waning ministry: I know my relationship with God is hindered, and know that because of that, the power in ministry is hampered.

How might this change if I were to go with Option 2? This would involve actually seeing the promise of God, and confessing my sins. That’s my part. But to stop there would be nearly as foolish as not confessing in the first place. It is still tempting to be swallowed up by guilt. I had to ask myself: Do I really believe His promise to forgive me? How will that impact my actions and attitudes if I truly believe He will forgive me? For one thing, the guilt has faded away. When thoughts of inadequacy for ministry have come in, I have chosen to trust God that He has forgiven me, and to have confidence that it’s only through his mercy and strength that I am equipped for ministry. Then, guess what attitude has come to prominence in my heart? A tremendous gratitude has flooded me, resulting in constantly having praise on my lips and my heart. On top of that, the gratitude has resulted in a desire and hunger for more of His Word and a more eager heart for ministry.

All of this has happened in a non-tangible way. How have I been able to move forward in forgiveness? By faith. I’ve had to actually BELIEVE God’s promise. And if I truly believe it, it will turn into changed attitudes and actions.

Going back to our analogy, let me remind us that if we refuse to use the promise medicine that He’s provided, we are also missing out on the hope that those promises offer. As we go through trials, it’s easy to get mired down into the discouragement, stress, and pain that comes with just looking at the circumstances.

College students usually come with the stigma of “poor college student”… you know… it comes with the ramen noodles, and water diet. And of course, if you think of a missionary, it somehow seems sacrilegious if they AREN’T living from paycheck to paycheck (another topic for another time). Well, to give you an idea of the challenges we’re facing right now, I’m a missionary, married to a college student. Getting the picture? I’m not saying this to complain, but to share the current vivid picture of this premise in my life.

In this situation, many times I have no idea where the rent money will come from. Or wish that I had just a little more grocery money (don’t worry, neither of us are starving!). My human response is to worry, stress, complain, and generally “freak out” when I look at the circumstances. But to do that is to keep that medicine on the shelf in the pharmacy. Instead, the process God has to keep reminding me of, is to take that medicine off the shelf, and take it into myself. Lately one of the verses that comes to mind is Philippians 4:19 – that “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.” On a moment-by-moment basis I must choose to believe this promise. God is so amazing and blesses me so much as he give me tangible reminders that it is true. Reminders like providing money for all the bills and our tithe with a dollar left over. Not all moments are like that though. I don’t ALWAYS have everything I need at the moment that I THINK that I need it, so most moments require FAITH. This is a choice to trust that God will keep his promise. Will God provide for my needs if I don’t believe it? Yes. He’s promised it. And this is not what I would call a conditional promise. It was written to believers, but I don’t see anything there about “My God shall supply all your needs except your rent money”. Or “My God shall supply all your needs as long as you’ve been perfectly good for the last month”. I’m so grateful that He IS keeping that promise. Now my choice is this: Am I going to freak out, complain about how tight things are, or lose sleep, wondering where in the world the money will come from for that upcoming bill? Or am I going to take my Promise Medicine? To do that, I need to take each worrisome thought captive, and change it to the truth by remind myself that God WILL provide for all my needs. THEN I need to act like it. That means “No whining!” So… if I stop whining, quote verses about God’s provision for me, and truly believe it, will that coerce God into providing for my needs immediately? Nope. And seldom does He actually provide on my time-table. So what is the profit of believing the promise, if he’ll do it whether I believe it or not? I can tell you from experience that the more I trust, the more peace I have. I worry much less, get better sleep, and don’t have to spend all my time trying to figure out how *I* can solve this problem. And then when He DOES provide, I get to give glory to Him for answering my needs with all the more gratitude.

Does this happen overnight? Not even close. Apparently, after over 12 years in full-time ministry, and nearly 30 years of my Christian walk, there are still things I need to learn in this process, as God still keeps bringing me through this. When one part gets easier, he teaches me more in a different area. I say this not to discourage you, though. Rather, what a joy to continue to grow closer to God in faith and in effectiveness!

I hope you've picked up on the key word in this. Promise is a good word, but the Promise Medicine is FAITH. It’s not easy to appropriate. But to have His promises and not apply them is as foolish as not taking the medicine offered by my doctor. So… what promise has God made that YOU need to apply to your life today?

When I first shared about the challenge to trust God’s promises with a dear friend – a relatively new believer, her first question was “Where do I find these promises?” She hadn't grown up like I did, learning and hearing all the promises of God’s word, so didn't know where to start. She did some research and found many promises for many occasions. How about if we give her (and ourselves) a great resource of those promises by accumulating them in a list on the sidebar of this blog? Would you start by commenting below with a promise (or two or three!) that has special meaning to you right now? Thank you!

What is a Promise?

There are MANY promises in the Bible - I've heard that there are anywhere from 365 (a convenient 1 per day of the year), to thousands of promises. But how do I know if a promise applies to me? In my evaluation, there are several types of promises. There are covenants, there are some promises for specific people or groups of people (i.e, quite possibly NOT me), some are conditional promises - something that God promises, but requires an action or attitude on my part. And then there are statements in the Bible that are really more of principles rather than promises.

Two questions I want to ask with each category is this: 1. Does it apply to me? In other words, is this a promise TO ME? 2. Whether or not this promise is TO ME, is there a principle or something that I can learn from it that should and/or will affect my life or walk with God? Just because a promise in the Bible isn't to me, doesn't mean it isn't valuable and shouldn't be applied in my life - I just need to make sure I'm not "claiming it" as a promise, if it isn't a promise!

First of all, I consider the difference between a promise and a covenant. There are a number of covenants in the Bible. For example, there's the Abrahamic covenant - to simplify, it was a promise to a barren Abraham that he would have descendants more numerable than the stars in the sky, among other things (forgive the simplicity: I'm not remembering all the details at the moment, and the rest of the details aren't the point at the moment!). Then there's the Adamic covenant - the promise to Adam of a coming Savior. And those are just two of the covenants. They involve promises from God, but they are to a specific person about a specific topic. I've been reading the book by R.C. Sproul called "The Promises of God: Discovering the One who Keeps His promises". What a read! I'm only to the third chapter, but there's already so much to learn. Here's how Sproul boils down what makes a covenant. "Though the biblical covenants have elements of promise, one thing makes them different from these other kinds of agreements - biblical covenants are established on the basis of a divine sanction. That is, they are established not on the foundation of promises made by equal parties, but on the foundation of the divine promise of God. In the biblical covenants, it is God who declares the terms and makes the promises." Okay - that sounds an awful lot like a promise to me! But what about question 1: does that apply to ME? No. Does it affect me? It does in this sense - God promised Abraham, for example, that he would make of him a great nation. Does that mean that God will make a great nation of ME? No. But it DOES affect me - God DID make of Abraham a great nation, so I can see from some 5,000 years removed that God DID keep his covenant to Abraham, which gives me faith to trust His other promises - including those that DO directly apply to me. Of course the case could also be made that through Abraham, the great nation was made, through that great nation the Savior came, and through that Savior comes MY Salvation. But the bottom line is this: that covenant wasn't directly made with me. Meanwhile, other covenants DO apply directly to me - including the NEW Covenant, presented by Jesus! And just in case I wasn't sure if it would apply to me as a Gentile, the book of Romans is only one of several New Testament passages that make the argument for the fact that it DOES apply to me! Thank you, God!

Though I touched on it above, there are also promises of God that were designed for a specific person or group of people. My favorite husband suggested 2 Chronicles 7:14 as an example. Here's what it says: "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." I can't tell you how many times I've heard this presented as a "promise" from God. So lets ask the question again: does this promise apply to me? Lets take a look at the context - this is a MAJOR clue in helping us know the answer to that question, no matter the passage or "promise"! Take a look at the context on this one. 

11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

This is a conversation that God had with Solomon, after he had built the temple. I don't see any references to the Solomonic Covenant in the commentaries (for one thing, it's a mouthful to pronounce!), so it doesn't seem to be a major covenant. But if you look at the beginning of the sentence in verse 13, it says sets the stage for when people are to humble themselves, pray, seek his face, turn from their wicked ways, etc. "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people..." 1. There is a specific circumstance for this promise. 2. There is a specific condition for this promise (people called by his name, humbling themselves, etc.). 3. It seems to be to a specific people - He was talking to Solomon about the Israelites (see the following verses about his promise of a throne to rule ISRAEL). Now we ask the second question though: does it affect me? I certainly believe it DOES. What do we learn about God from this passage? 1. He can and does bring physical consequences for sin. 2. When sin is present, he desires that his people (now us Gentiles are called by his name as well) will humble themselves, pray, seek his face, and turn from their wicked ways. 3. He promised Solomon that he would hear the Israelites prayer when THEY did those things - it is likely that he will hear us as well (see other passages like James 5:16 for principles that support this), forgive our sin, and heal our land. By the way, that's another major clue: what does the rest of the Bible say about this topic - if it's a promise from God, it won't be contradictory to the principles taught in the rest of the Bible! So this certainly isn't a useless passage for us. I still wrestle with the context to understand better whether this might still apply to us (am I as a Gentile part of the "my people who are called by my name", through the New Covenant?). But at the same time, I don't want to claim that God's promising me something when he was really just promising a certain person or group of people. Even though this promise may not directly APPLY to me, I believe there's a strong APPLICATION to me, that I certainly won't limit. I can still quote this verse as a reminder of this hearty PRINCIPLE to apply to my life. I just won't take it as a PROMISE to ME. 

Now how about the conditional promise? That promise to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14 actually is a good example of a conditional promise to the Israelites. Another name for this would be an "If, then" promise. He was telling Solomon that IF the people would humble themselves, IF the people would seek His face, IF they turned from their wicked ways, THEN God would hear from heaven, THEN He would forgive their sins, THEN He would heal their land. What would happen if the people DIDN'T humble themselves, etc? Then God WOULDN'T hear from heaven, etc. An example of a conditional promise that applies to ALL believers is this verse from Acts 16:31 - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (sorry, one of those that I learned from the KJV, and just can't be recited without the "thou"!). IF you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, THEN you will be saved. What happens if I DON'T believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? THEN I won't be saved. So again we ask the question: does this APPLY to ME? The answer is a conditional "yes". Do I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then, yes, this promise DOES apply to me. The question of its effect on me is also dependent on the condition in the verse, though I can also apply general truth from this verse even if it doesn't apply to me. If I DON'T believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I can still see how it would affect me: God WANTS me to believe on  Jesus, and by doing that, I would be saved. 

Additionally, I hope you've already seen that there are still PRINCIPLES that can be applied. Many of the passages that we take as promises are really just principles. Take the book of Proverbs for example. Certainly, I'm not saying that there aren't some promises in that book, but most of what you will find are PRINCIPLES. The one I hear most often is one I hesitate to bring up, as fragile parents have clung to this passage. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." I can only begin to grasp the pain of a parent who has dedicated blood, sweat, and tears into training their child into a Godly young man or woman, only to see them walk away, sometimes RUN away, as the prodigal son into a "wicked" lifestyle - whatever that means for that child. But as I look at the context of this verse, it is part of a string of principles, and there is nothing that vaguely resembles a "promise" here. So is this a promise that applies to me? I'd have to say no. BUT... is there a way that this passage still should affect and impact me? MOST DEFINITELY! When you have a principle from God, it's one you SHOULD see changing your life - you SHOULD model your life after those things, even if it's not a promise! 1. As a parent, if you want your children to go "the way he should go", your job is to "train up a child in the way he should go" - it doesn't happen by accident. Please allow this slight bunny-trail from someone whose job it is to minister to children - It also doesn't happen by sending your child to one hour of Sunday School (OR Good News Club) each week! This happens by living the example, actively TEACHING your children on a daily basis - not just through devotions, but through conversation, teachable moments, praying for and with your children, etc.! I digress. 2. In a general principle, a child who is trained well will stay in the way he should go. Ultimately, as a comfort to parents, though, it's between that child and God - and if you ever doubt that child's ability to communicate with God, never doubt God's ability to communicate to that child - HE is the one who loves them even more than you do, and through His Holy Spirit can convict! 

Of course, there is also the flat out promise. You may still find qualifications (ie the promise to the believer, v the unbeliever), but there are general promises that you can find that apply to Jew or Gentile, Old Testament or New Testament, etc. For the sake of conversation, lets assume that we are believers, and looking for promises that apply to all believers. One example that comes to mind is that of Hebrews 13:5 "for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" You'll find it in a list of general instructions, but these instructions are definitely written to believers. Though the book itself is written to a predominantly Jewish audience, it is written to the Jewish believer - members of God's family. In the midst of that, we find this beautiful promise. Does it apply to us? Yup! Does it affect us? Yup! This is a promise I can COUNT ON!!! Praise God!

So, those are the different types of promises that I see... maybe as we go, I'll find another category, but this'll help lay the foundation for future conversations. Thank you for joining me on this journey. We may find ourselves at a very different understanding by the time we "finish" this journey! One thing I know for sure, though, and find great comfort in: when God makes a promise, he KEEPS his promise! 

Oh, and here's one more bonus promise for you as a believer, with a God that will never leave us: "So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'" There's one to apply to our lives!