Missed Promises
I've been sitting here thinking tonight about the promises of God and the way people view them. I've heard it sound countless times that if God said it, it would come to pass, and nothing can stop it. Do you really think that is true? Hear me out before you label me a heretic, because I believe that there is a crucial element that is left out of that line of thinking. Let me, at least partially, put your mind at rest. I am not saying that God is "wishy washy" or that ever goes back on his word or does not honor or fulfill his word. Still, I believe that many of the promises of God are never fulfilled. But the problem is not on God's end, it is on ours. The thing is, as you read through the Word of God, His promises are usually conditional. For example, in Deuteronomy 28 we read "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:" and the rest of the chapter spells out blessings for obedience and the curse for disobedience. I could list dozens of such conditions, and if you really need me to provide them for you, if you will leave me a comment or send me a message and I will be glad to do that for you.
Now, the point I'm trying to make is that we are given promise, both in the Word and by the Holy Spirit, of what God will do for us... if we obey the commands of God. And as I've been sitting here thinking about this, I was thinking of the many times I've had people say things like this to me: "I don't understand Pastor D... God promised me... I was believing and waiting, but He has failed me." I beg to differ with you, but my God NEVER fails. If a promise has not been fulfilled, then either, 1) It simply is not time yet, or 2) Someone had been walking in disobedience. God has good things... the best intended for us. But we choose the path we walk. For example, think about King Saul. He was anointed as King, and walked in the anointing of God. But he chose the wrong path later in his life and he missed out. How about Moses? For that matter, the whole of the tribe of Israel. God gave them a promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet, only two of the millions that were hearers of the promise ever became receivers... because they disobeyed. Yes, their children received, but only because they obeyed. This has had me thinking for more than an hour... 39 years spinning their wheels and wasting time, when they were right on the threshold of receiving the promise. God still blessed them, prospered them, provided for them, but they never received the fulfillment of promise because thy disobeyed.
I find myself wondering, how many of us are just like that? Right on the verge of the miraculous and spectacular of God... and we make the wrong choice, and thereby forfeit God's best for our lives.
That's something to think about.
Now, the point I'm trying to make is that we are given promise, both in the Word and by the Holy Spirit, of what God will do for us... if we obey the commands of God. And as I've been sitting here thinking about this, I was thinking of the many times I've had people say things like this to me: "I don't understand Pastor D... God promised me... I was believing and waiting, but He has failed me." I beg to differ with you, but my God NEVER fails. If a promise has not been fulfilled, then either, 1) It simply is not time yet, or 2) Someone had been walking in disobedience. God has good things... the best intended for us. But we choose the path we walk. For example, think about King Saul. He was anointed as King, and walked in the anointing of God. But he chose the wrong path later in his life and he missed out. How about Moses? For that matter, the whole of the tribe of Israel. God gave them a promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet, only two of the millions that were hearers of the promise ever became receivers... because they disobeyed. Yes, their children received, but only because they obeyed. This has had me thinking for more than an hour... 39 years spinning their wheels and wasting time, when they were right on the threshold of receiving the promise. God still blessed them, prospered them, provided for them, but they never received the fulfillment of promise because thy disobeyed.
I find myself wondering, how many of us are just like that? Right on the verge of the miraculous and spectacular of God... and we make the wrong choice, and thereby forfeit God's best for our lives.
That's something to think about.
