Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Waiting on God's Promises

Are you waiting on God’s promises to come true in your life?

Many believers hope and pray for God's promises to come to pass in their lives. Are you one who is actively pursuing the promises of God? Are you one who is waiting for the promises of God?  I am currently waiting for some of the promises of God to come true in my own life.

Hebrews 11 which is known as the faith chapter tells about many people in the Bible who faithfully obeyed God and saw the promises of God come to pass in their lives. Of course, it also tells about many others who did not see the promises of God come to fulfillment in their lives.

I, for one, want to be one of God's children who see and experience all of the promises of God come to fruition in my life. I hope you also desire to be one of the believers who see and experience the promises of God in your own life. What sets us apart from the ones who do not receive the promises of God?

For one, we have to believe God. We have to believe Him and His word. We must stand firm in our faith in God.

"But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, but in Him it has always been ‘Yes’. 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. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:18-22, NIV)

We must know that God is faithful to His word. He does not change His mind. He does not make a promise and not fulfill it. (Numbers 23:19)

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." (Romans 4:16-17, NIV)

God's promises to us, His children, come to us by grace. Grace is fully manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must be believers in Jesus Christ as well as Children of the living God in order to receive the promises of God.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." (Romans 4:18-22, NIV)

Abraham who is considered the father of all nations believed God. He had great faith in Him. He did not doubt God or His promise to him. Sarah also believed God.  As a result, she received God's promise of a son in her old age.

"Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." (Genesis 21:1-5, NIV)

Both Abraham and Sarah received the promises of God in their lives. They trusted God with the unknown. They did not worry about any of the details. They had faith in God.

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." And she added, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." (Genesis 21:6-7, NIV)

Whatever God has promised you, keep persevering like Abraham. No matter how long it may take for the promises of God to come to pass in your life, do not give up. Continue running your race of faith...the one that God has prepared and planned for you. In the meantime, keep your eyes on Jesus who is the author and finisher of your faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)


Copyright 2013 by Dawn Freeman. All rights reserved.

2 comments:

  1. I'm going to try and make this short and sweet because my last post erased itself when the page froze! :\

    I had a dream from God 5 years ago, and it had very unpredictable details displayed in it. It's nothing I could influence at all. And it started happening, down to the last detail. God promised me something through this dream, then while I prayed one night (to myself, not aloud) that God help me to tell the person who was in the dream what would come to pass, I heard God say very loudly, Psalms 3. Not a scary loud, but not a still small voice, either. So I looked it up and my aunt, a very wise Christian whom I trust, confirmed that it was, in fact, a promise from God that all this would come to pass.

    I have scrupulosity really badly, and it went away for a few years. Suddenly, yesterday, I was googling about "what if the promise I heard from God was from demons" just out of fear and distrust, and then now I'm freaking out because someone talked about a similar promise that was from demons. But other people have gotten promises like this before, and they've come true. It's a 50/50 thing.

    I'm freaking out, though. I can't look at a picture of what I was promised without feeling afraid and scared and like I've lost something. I feel scared that the promise isn't real, even though I KNOW it is. My heart tells me it's real- that's why I'm fighting this scrupulosity, isn't it? Yet I'm still scared. I have had huge anxiety issues as a child. So this isn't weird for me, but, it hasn't happened in years.

    Do you have any advice for me? Thanks and God bless!

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    1. Dreams from God will line up with God's word---His truth. They will also bear witness in your inner being or your spirit. The truth always honors and glorifies God. (John 16:13-14) Fear is not of God or from God. (2 Timothy 1:7) Therefore, if you are in fear, that part is not from God. Always test the spirits in order to make sure that a dream or a word is from the Lord and not from other spirits in this world. (1 John 4:2-3) Hope this helps you, Weifang. Thanks!

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