Standing on the Promises of God: The Power of His Promises
“I had fainted unless, I had believed to see the Goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.” – Psalms 27:13
In this season of my life, I have found it to be both challenging yet adventurous. These last couple of months I have been searching desperately for God to carry me through this hard and difficult season. Throughout the pruning and stretching, GOD has truly restored me and has given me a clear perspective of who I am and why it is to live holy. (See “A Call to Holiness” Blog). At the end of this trying season, I have finally arrived at this place of newness and holiness, but most of all acceptance. In order to accept God’s promises for my life, I must accept myself. I am learning to cling to HIS promises and not what I see. The bible says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans.” (Psalms 118:8-9) Why does God say that? He warns us of ourselves and others. As humans we make promises, but life happens, and we are inconsistent. Whereas, God words will stand forever. So, what does stand on the promises of God mean in my everyday life? (1) Understanding my identity in Christ. (2) Learning the secret of contentment in every aspect of my life.
There are numerous promises that God made to us and others throughout the bible. So how do we define promise? There are two definitions of a promise. The first is a natural promise, a promise is an assurance that will something will happen. For example, you may say “I will call you tonight! I promise!” I have done this countless time and naturally as humans we forget or get busy. However, the second type of promise there is the biblical promise. According to KJV Dictionary promise in Latin means (promissum, from promittio) which means to send before or forward. “ Additionally, a promise is a declaration and covenant made between God and another individual. When a promise took place in those days, God would give his words to the individual and they would enter into agreement! (See also the stories of Abraham, Hannah, or Children of Israel). I will discuss 4 promises of God. First, the Lord tells us that he is Jehovah Jireh (which means Our Provider). When God says he is our provider he means across the board: personally, spirtitually, financially, etc. God actually promises to meet all our needs! How exciting is that? This is ONLY IF we are in CHRIST! He has promised to meet our basic needs such as providing food and shelter to us.
Many times we complain about our lives but take a moment to think about how millions of people in the U.S. alone are deprived of these basic needs we take for granted. I have to remember that might not have all that I want, but surely I have all I need. Phillippians 4 states “And the same GOD who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which has been given us in Christ Jesus.” (Phillippians 4:19 NLT). Secondly, God promises us that we will will overcome temptation when we are focused on HIM! Hear me clearly, you cannot defeat temptation by operating in your own strength and we should not intentionally put ourselves in tempting situations such as texting an ex!
“It is not your job to reopen a door, that the Lord has already closed.” – Nikia A. Handy
Naturally we will be tempted, we are humans and sexual beings, but I have GOOD NEWS, you are not alone. We have God and I personally recommend finding your community: your local church, godly friendships, or a Christian group chat. Your community might not be physically around you but you can connect! We all need accountability partners in life whether that may be finance or sexual purity. In fact, God tells us we are not tempted by him, but we carried away by our own lusts and fleshly desires. 1 Corinthians states “If you think that you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out, so that you can endure.” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT).
The next promise that I will focus on is one of the first promises made to mankind. Before creation, God told us that he would send his only son Jesus to save the world and through blood shed we would receive salvation and essentially made heirs of Christ. It is through his bloodshed that we are made new creations in Christ! Praise Him! Scripture tells us that “For this is how God loved the world. He gave is one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not parish but have EVERLASTING LIFE!” (John 3:16). (See also Mark 16:16; Acts 2:8).
As always, Be Encouraged!
Love, Nikia
Founder of TPM Ministries
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