Speak Your Promise

We can’t control how we come into the world. We can’t control the type of family that we are born into, or the type of brokenness that we are exposed to. Regardless of where we are from, it is all around us, we can’t escape it, in this broken world. And it rubs off on us, it projects itself onto us, leaving us feeling helpless at times. Many of us have felt like there is too much that we must overcome, in order to get to where we’re trying to go. And honestly, many of us don’t know if we even have what it takes, to get there. We don’t know where we’d start. But I want to remind us today that it’s not how we start that matters; it’s where we finish that matters. Regardless of our past, we have the final say in our future. We can either allow our past to dictate how we spend the rest of our lives, or we can take a stand and declare that we will be all that God has called us to be. Because He knows us more than we know ourselves.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5 AMP)

I love this version of this scripture. It details the depth of our Father’s love for us, from the beginning. When we understand that He called us in spite of knowing us, we get a deeper understanding of His grace. His grace covers everything that has ever happened to us; it covers everything that we have ever done, because He knew it all, from the beginning. And even with His foresight, He set us apart; He put a mark on our lives; He approved us as His “chosen instrument[s].” I love these words, because it proves that He has a purpose for each of us to walk in, one that is specific to us. But He always gives us a choice. He will never impose His plan on our lives, but He is always close by, knocking on the door to our hearts, looking for an opportunity to come in.

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. (Revelation 3:15-20 NLT)

This is a message from Jesus to the church. In it, He says that He knows everything that we do, and He knows how we sway back and forth in our relationship with Him. Maybe we do know Him, be we aren’t all in. In this instance, He says that we are neither hot nor cold; we are lukewarm. But He tells us to choose one or the other, and He wants us to choose life; He wants us to choose a relationship with Him, over everything else. So, He tells us that He is always with us, giving us constant opportunity to turn to Him, so that we might receive the promise that He has for us. He is the answer to our brokenness. He is our way out of the darkness that we were born into. This is why He says that from Him, we can receive a white garment to cover our nakedness, so that we wont be ashamed. Here, He points back to the shame that Adam and Eve felt in the garden, and their decision that caused brokenness to enter into the world. He wants us to know that He is the remedy for it all.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NLT)

Jesus is the way to restoration.

When we open the door to Christ, He comes in and changes everything. As we turn our faces towards Him, He works in our hearts; He begins to heal the brokenness from within; He changes our name, and He reminds us of who we’ve always been. It doesn’t matter what we’ve been through, or how much time we’ve lost, because He promises to restore it all.

“And I will compensate you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust— My great army which I sent among you. (Joel 2:25 AMP)

So, if we are in a place where we don’t know how to move forward, we must turn to Him. He is the answer. He is the One that can take us from walking down a road of despair, to living in victory.

Victory is a choice.

Victory never happens by mistake. Yes, our Lord and Savior pursues us. He rescues us, He fights for us. But we still have a major part to play in the story. You see, we still have to do the believing. We still have to do the walking. And we still have to do the waiting, if we are going to see all that our Father has promised us. No matter where we’ve started, and no matter where we are now, we can believe God for more. We can believe that His word is true. We can walk in faith, towards our promise. We can wait on Him, and trust that He will come through for us. We may not be able to control the hand that we were dealt, but we can control whether we win or not. We can use the advantage that we have in defeating the giants in our lives. We are not alone. The Spirit of God is always with us. He goes before us, and He promises to provide us with everything that we need to do what He’s called us to do. But it’s what we do with the provision that makes the difference. Will we trust that what He provides is enough? Will we trust that His presence before us is enough?

When we read about the Israelites, we see that they were unable to enter into the promised land. They had been through a lot. They had just come out of generations of slavery, a time when they cried out to God to rescue them. And He answered their prayers. He sent Moses, so lead them out of bondage. They were free from the hand of the Egyptians, and then, they were led in a roundabout way to the promised land. Why? Because God wanted to prepare them for where they were going.

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle. (Exodus 13:17-18 NLT)

God knew them more than they knew themselves. He knew that they were broken, but He chose them anyway. He chose them to be His people; He set them apart. But, He also knew that their past meant that He needed to transform them, from the inside out. He knew that He needed to show them that they were His children, and that He was their father. He wanted them to understand that He would lead them, and take care of them, no matter what. This is why He put them in positions where they had to depend on Him. He parted the Red Sea so that they would know who fights for them. He brought water from rocks because He wanted to prove that His resources weren’t limited to what their eyes could see. He wanted to reveal Himself to them. He wanted to change their perspective, so that they could understand that with Him, nothing is impossible. But, even after all the miracles He showed them, they still did not believe.

And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? (Numbers 14:11 NLT)

God gave the Israelites an instruction. He told them to scout out the promised land, so that they could see the fruitfulness of the land that He was giving them. But, the majority of the scouts came back with a bad report. They said that the inhabitants of the land were too strong for them to defeat, and the Israelites agreed with this conclusion. And their agreement, caused their unbelief.

We can not agree with the bad report.

The truth is that we will receive bad reports. We will be told by others that a path forward is impossible. We will be told that we aren’t good enough, that there is too much for us to overcome, and that we don’t have what it takes. And honestly, we might even think this about ourselves. I know I have. But even still, we can not agree with the bad report. Although we might hear and think things that are contrary to our promise, we can never allow it to come out of our mouths. Even if we think fear, we must speak faith. Even if we aren’t sure how we will get there, we must speak in a way that works for us, and not against us, because our words are more powerful than we think.

Our words cause life and death.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words. (Proverbs 18:21 AMP)

According to the word of God, we will eat the fruit of—and reap the consequences of— the words that we speak. If we speak death, we are killing the very promise that God has given us. But if we speak life, we are breathing life into the promise that God has given us. Remember that our lungs hold the breath of our Father—the one who created us.

Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. (Genesis 2:7 NLT)

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. (Acts of the Apostles 17:24-25 NLT)

When we speak, we are doing so with our God given breath. This is so powerful, if we could ever understand this. We are His vessels; we are His ambassadors; we are His “chosen instrument[s].” And He gave us life so that His glory could go forth throughout the earth. This is why life and death is in the power of our tongue. When we use our words, as His instruments, we are allowing Him to speak into the earth, through us. So our words are so much more important than we think. Our Father desires to accomplish His will through us. When He created us, He did so through His breath, and He has passed the torch to us. He says, “let me use you, let me speak through you.” This is why speaking the word of God over our lives is so powerful, because we are agreeing with His will. And when we do this, we are allowing His breath to flow through us, so that His promises can go forth into our lives.

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. (Isaiah 55:11 NLT)

This scripture says that whenever God sends His word out, it always accomplishes all that He desires for it to accomplish. So, this means that when we agree with His word, and speak His promise over our lives, we can be sure that He will do His part. We can be certain that He will move to do what He says He will do. All we have to do is trust Him enough to speak in faith, and then, we must obey the instructions that He gives us.

When we do our part, God does His part.

The word of God is powerful, and the words that we speak are powerful, so we must remember that what we say matters. It matters in our lives, and it matters in the earth. In the case of the Israelites, their destiny was changed because of what they said.

Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” (Numbers 14:1-4 NLT)

They agreed more with the bad report from the scouts, than they did with the word that God had given them. They didn’t realize the weight of their words. They didn’t realize that what they spoke would later be their reality. And because they spoke death over their situation, they were left to suffer the fruit of it. They ended up being disqualified from entering into the promised land. The ended up dying in the wilderness.

But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land. (Numbers 14:21-24 NLT)

You will not enter and occupy the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. (Numbers 14:30 NLT)

This was God’s response to the Israelites unbelief. He forbade them from seeing the promise, but I want us to pay attention to the end of this passage. God allow Caleb to enter the promised land, and later on in the chapter, we read that Joshua was granted access into the promised land as well. Why? Because Caleb and Joshua had a different attitude than the rest of them.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” (Numbers 13:30 NLT)

Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Numbers 14:6-9 NLT)

Our words must agree with the promise that God has given us.

What gave Joshua and Caleb such confidence? They remembered that they were not alone. They remembered that nothing would be impossible, as long as the favor of the Lord was with them. They allowed nothing to negate His strength and sovereignty. Regardless of what their eyes had seen, they stood on the word that God had spoken to them.

The Lord now said to Moses, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” (Numbers 13:1-2 NLT)

Over and over again, the Lord told the Israelites that the land of Canaan was theirs. He told them that it was set apart, just for them. He promised to go before them, and to hand their enemy over to them, but they didn’t have the faith to believe it. They only trusted what their eyes could see. But not Joshua and Caleb. They trusted God; they believed that His words were true. And they believed Him enough to speak in faith, and obey His instructions. Because of their faith to speak the promise of God, they entered into the promised land.

Speak your promise.

What promise has your Father in heaven given you? What are the promises that He has placed in His word? Do you believe that He will do what He says He will do? If not, I encourage you to ask Him to help you believe.

In the book of Mark, we read of a man who sought healing for his son. I want us to pay close attention to the father’s exchange with Jesus.

The spirit often throws him into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can.” “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” (Mark 9:22-25 NLT)

As the father pleads with Jesus to heal his son, Jesus tells him that anything is possible for someone that believes. But look at the father’s response, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.” This father’s answer expresses the feelings that we go through, as we seek to have faith in God. He is acknowledging his unbelief, but he is also expressing how much he wants to believe. He is saying that I do believe, but not fully. He is being honest about the part of him that does not trust in God. Doesn’t that sound like many of us? None of us can be full of faith all the time.

When I first began my journey with Christ, I wanted to believe so bad. But if I’m being honest, my heart was much more filled with unbelief, than it was with faith in God. But I leaned into Jesus anyways. I asked Him to strengthen me. I asked Him to help me believe.

In the passage, Jesus responds to the father by healing his son. This is one of the things that I love so much about Jesus. We don’t have to be perfect. We don’t even have to be full of faith. He didn’t heal the son because of the father’s strong faith, He healed the son just because the father wanted to have faith. I don’t know exactly what was going through Jesus’s mind in that moment, but I believe that healing the son was Jesus’s way of helping the father to overcome his unbelief. This is what Jesus does. He strengthens our faith through His faithfulness. Through our trials, He shows us that we can trust in Him.

Jesus wants to help you believe.

Jesus wants you to believe in Him. He wants you to receive His plan for you life. And He wants this for you so much, that He is willing to help you get there. Remember, it’s not where you start that matters; it’s where you finish that matters. Do you want to believe Him, but you aren’t quite there yet? That’s okay… He wants to help you. He wants to come into your situation, regardless of how hopeless it seems, so that He can show you His faithfulness. This is how He intends to build the faith that you need. He wants to reveal His glory to you, as He did with the Israelites. He’ll show you that He is more than enough, and He will give you the confidence to speak your promise in faith. Don’t look at your past; don’t look at your problem; look at the One that has a purpose for it all. Look at the one that intends to use everything—the good and bad—for your good. If you desire your promise, move towards it, and remember that you have a teacher; you have a helper; you are not alone. With His help, you will have the victory; you will receive everything that He has planned for you.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me in spite of my past. Regardless of where I’ve been, and regardless of where I am right now, I know that you are with me. I know that you are for me, and I know that you have a plan and purpose for my life. Today, I am choosing to leave my past behind, and I declare that I will run towards your will for my life. If I am out of alignment with you, I pray that through your grace, you would guide me back towards your light. Give me a vision of the plan that you have for my life, and enlarge my faith, so that I can believe you for it. Give me the courage to speak in faith. And when I am struggling to believe, I pray that you would send your Spirit to strengthen me, and remind me of your faithfulness. I believe you Father. I believe that you have good things planned for my life, and I believe that you will guide me towards those plans. I will trust you, and your provision. I will stand on your promises, and speak them over my life. I declare that the victory is mine. I give you all the glory in advanced. In Jesus name, amen.