Promises Received

Promises Received

The promise is received by faith. Romans 4:16

GOD GIVES MANY PROMISES IN SCRIPTURE—promises for salvation, prayer, spiritual strength, relationships, children, health, material blessing, the battles we face, the presence and power of his Spirit, and much more. So why aren’t more people experiencing them? Why is so much of our theology built around exceptions and conditions to these promises rather than their fulfillment? Why do we so often wonder what we’re missing?

We forget that promises are of no use unless they are received. And the only way to receive God’s promises is by faith. We can only experience what we actually believe we will experience. That doesn’t mean God’s promises are magic, and it doesn’t mean that everyone who prays for health and isn’t healed, or who prays for protection and has an accident, was lacking in faith. No theology condensed to fit a human brain is big enough to explain everything that happens. But we do know that those who stake their faith on what God has said will find his promises working their way into their experience far more often than those who can’t get past the doubts and questioning. Radical faith tends to result in radical testimonies; waiting for God to do whatever he will do generally doesn’t.

The bottom line is that God’s promises are invitations to step more fully and boldly into our relationship with him. They will stretch us, the adventure may last a while, and we will need to remain in dialogue with him. But God did not give his promises for us to see them as faint hopes. He gave them to us to base our journey on. They are cues for direction, encouragement for trying times, rallying points for persistence, and ultimately testimonies of his faithfulness. Abraham spent years in questioning, receiving further clarification, and setting his eyes on visual illustrations God had given him. He and his wife both laughed as the time neared. But they ended up anchoring their hopes in what God had said, and it happened. When we anchor our hopes there too, we find him faithful. The fruit of his promises fills our lives according to the seeds of faith we have allowed into our hearts.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.