Applying God’s Promises

 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has granted us His very great and precious promises, so that by them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. — 2 Peter 1:3-4

For no matter how many prom­ises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. – 2 Corinthians 1:20

INTRODUCTION

God’s promises are precious, mag­nificent, and have extreme value. The author of Hebrews admonishes us with these words:

Do not throw away your confi­dence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. — Hebrews 10:35-36

Notice that he says: “When you have done the will of God.” Promises are not given without a plan that in­volves faith and responsibility, though many times we have to wait for them to be revealed. A biblical promise is a declaration of God’s intention to graciously bestow a gift upon an individual or a group of people. For example, Jesus said,

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. — John 14:2-3

He knows that at times we may feel tempted to wonder if He is really coming back for us, and so He gives us the promise of His sure return and also of His personal care to reassure us and calm our fears.

GRATITUDE

In 1 Kings, we read about Solo­mon’s progress especially his effusive blessings of the Lord for His faithful­ness. Then he makes this statement:

Blessed be the LORD, who has giv­en rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. — 1 Kings 8:56

God did exactly what He had promised to do, and Solomon hon­oured the Lord by acknowledging it. He had a grateful heart, and he want­ed the people to respond in gratitude also.

How many times have you prayed for something, asking God to meet a need that you have and to speak to you through His Word, and as you read the Bible, He provided assurance that He heard your prayers and will answer?

This is a tremendous gift. But in­stead of turning to Him with a grate­ful heart, did you pick up the tele­phone and call three or four people to tell them the news?

So often we forget to thank the One person who provides the resourc­es we need. I believe God’s heart must hurt over our self-centered actions.

We pray and trust Him and then forget to say, “Lord, thank You for answering my prayers. Thank You for being faithful to the promise You gave me in Your Word. Thank You for meet­ing my needs perfectly and on time.”

Even those who encountered Jesus during His time here on earth neglect­ed to thank Him:

While [Jesus] was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.

Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus an­swered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine — where are they? — Luke 17:11-17

Nine of these men met the Sav­iour-Healer (Psalm 103:3), but they never thought to thank God or wor­ship Him for His healing.

PROMISE KEEPING GOD

Hebrews 10:23 reminds us to “hold fast the confession of our hope with­out wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” God is not going to give you a promise and then say, “You know, maybe I didn’t mean that.” And when He does answer, He wants us to give Him glory and praise because He truly has worked on our behalf.