Partnering with God’s Promises through Faith

The Bible is full of promises that God has committed to writing, for His children to believe and receive.  Promises of provision, peace, guidance, strength, salvation, and love are repeated throughout the pages of scripture.  These promises are God’s true intentions toward us.  Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?” 

Basically, as I understand it, we can take God’s promises fully at face value, because if He didn’t mean it, He wouldn’t say it. He is always true to His Word.  Therefore, we can trust that God’s promises aren’t just nice ideas, not mere pie-in-sky offerings.  They are solid-gold pledges that He intends to fulfill on our behalf. 

Yet sometimes, we experience a disconnect between the promises of God and what we see in our own lives.  He promises reconciliation and we experience conflict; He promises provision and yet we feel lack; He promises healing and we suffer with illness.  Of course, there is a place for accepting that God is God, and He can do whatever He wants, whenever and however He wants.  And sometimes, He may have a very good reason for not answering our prayers in the exact way we were hoping.

But I have also come to understand that scripture teaches very clearly the importance of our faith in releasing the plans and purposes of God.  It seems that God prefers to work in partnership with His children, and He invites us into the process of His promise fulfillment.  1 Corinthians 1:20 describes it this way: “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.” 

God speaks His promises, and through our faith in Jesus, we are invited to add our “Amen.”  This is a vital step.  There is real power in our agreement – power to release the promise.  But if we only hold out in hope, waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled, we may fail to activate them by our faith-filled agreement.

The power of agreement is a spiritual principle that always bears fruit in our lives – either good fruit or bad.  Proverbs 18:21 instructs us that “the tongue has the power of life and death.”  The words we speak out – words of life and blessing OR words of curse and death – will yield their fruit.  This is important to understand, because we might unknowingly undermine our faith through a negative report.  This was the mistake the Israelites made when they were headed to the Promised Land (Numbers 13 & 14).  They agreed with the words of fear, doubt, and skepticism spoken by the ten spies instead of the words of faith and hope given by Joshua and Caleb.  Thus, the promise of God was lost to a whole generation.

In these days, we are surrounded by voices of worry, criticism, complaining, negativity and doubt.  And we, too, may give voice to our frustrations and our fears.  These negative narratives can quickly pull us out of partnership with God’s plans and purposes.

As you look expectantly to the Lord for the fulfillment of His promises, I encourage you to pause and consider the words you are speaking out.  Are they words of faith, hope, and love?  Words that agree with God’s purposes and His promises?  Or are they words that perpetuate doubt, fear, and worry in your own life or to those around you?  Remember that what you agree with – through your thoughts, beliefs, and ultimately, your words – will yield its fruit in your life.  Do your words reveal your faith in action?

The promises of God are very real.  It is His desire and intention to fulfill them on your behalf, but He leaves room for you to partner with Him through your willing faith.  It is your faith-filled response to His will that makes way for His promises to be released.  

My hope for you, Dear One, is that you will see many promises from God fulfilled in your life, and that you will have the joy of partnering with Him to bring blessing to yourself and others.

A Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your heart of love for me.  Thank You that You have sent goodness and mercy to follow me all the days of my life, and that all Your precious promises are stamped with a resounding “Yes” in Jesus.  Help me to partner with Your promises through my faith so that Your purposes for me will be fulfilled to Your Glory!

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

10 Promises from God’s Word

1. He will provide for you needs. (Matthew 6:25-33)

2. He will give you peace. (John 14:27)

3. He will strengthen you. (Isaiah 40:31)

4. He will guide you. (Psalm 32:8)

5. He will use all things for good. (Romans 8:28)

6. He gives eternal life. (John 3:16)

7. He answers prayer. (John 15:7)

8. He will be with you in trouble. (Isaiah 43:1-2)

9. He will make all things new. (Revelation 21:4)

10. He will never leave or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)