When I first began my walk with Christ, I often heard stories of people experiencing the promises of God. I heard stories of physical and mental healing. I heard stories of marriages being restored. But still, I wanted to know more…
It’s great to hear testimonies about people experiencing the promises of God, but I wanted to know how I could experience His promises in my own life.
I can’t say that any one source gave me the simplest answer. But today, I’d like to make it simple for anyone hoping, paying, and believing to experience the promises of God in their life.
There are 3 keys to experiencing the promises of God…
The first key is faith, of course!
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. (Mark 11:22-24 NLT)
The importance of faith is proven all throughout scripture….
For instance, when Jesus visited his hometown, He could not perform miracles because they lacked faith.
And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:57-58 NLT)
Now, in contrast, the woman with the issue of blood was healed because of her faith.
And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Mark 5:34 NLT
The promises of God can not be experienced without faith.
I want to look at one more story. It is found in Numbers chapters 13-14.
During this time in scripture, God was ready to lead the Israelites into the promised land. So, he gave them an instruction. He told them to send 12 men to scout out the land. But when they saw the land and the powerful people that lived there, the majority of the men became afraid. Instead of returning with a good report, they were discouraged. They no longer believed they could conquer the land that God had given them. And, unfortunately, their lack of faith disqualified them from receiving their promise.
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)
God only permitted 2 of the 12 men (Caleb and Joshua) to enter into the promised land. They were able to receive the promise of God because of their faith.
The second key to promise is obedience.
Faith alone is not enough. Our faith must be proven by our actions.
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. (James 2:17 NLT)
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone. (James 2:21-24 NLT)
When we obey God, we show (with our actions) that we trust Him.
You see, faith is never still. Faith is always moving…
When God speaks to us, we must believe what He says AND we must act like we believe what he says.
Abraham acted like he believed God when he prepared to sacrifice his son.
Moses acted like he believed God when he used his staff to part the Red Sea.
David acted like he believed God when he fought Goliath
Elijah acted like he believed God when he prayed for fire to descend from heaven.
These men didn’t receive the promise of God because of their faith alone. They received the promise of God because they acted on their faith….they did what God told them to do…they were obedient!
Now, I want to contrast the above faith with a story that took place in the book of Numbers…
In this story, the Israelites were upset because they had been wandering in the wilderness and they couldn’t find any water to drink. So, they voiced their frustrations to Moses and Aaron, who then sought the Lord for guidance. Luckily, the solution was simple. God told Moses to speak to a rock so that water would pour out. But, the only problem is that instead of speaking to the rock, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff. He was disobedient.
But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” (Numbers 20:12 NLT)
Moses and Aaron were disqualified from experiencing the promised land because they were disobedient.
We can not experience the promises of God if we are not obedient.
Now, for a moment, I want to address the elephant in the room, because no one likes to hear the word obedient. It sounds demanding, controlling, and even cold at times. But, I want us to understand that this is not how God intended it to be.
You see, God is not in it for the control. He’s not in heaven wagging his finger at us. No. Obedience is all about God’s love for us. He has an amazing plan for our lives. He has so many promises that He wants us to receive. But…we must remember that He is the only one that can lead us there. He knows the trials that we will face. He knows the roadblocks up ahead. And, He just wants to help us out along the way. He wants to protect us, provide for us, and fight for us.
But…we have to let Him. We have to obey.
The third key to promise is waiting on God.
It sounds so simple and obvious, but this is probably the most overlooked key!
Waiting on God is probably the hardest part of walking by faith. It’s hard to wait day after day, month after month, and year after year. It's hard to have faith in God when your circumstances are void of his promise. But, I can tell you from experience that His promise is worth the wait. He is forever faithful. If he spoke a promise to you, He will fulfill it!
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Hebrews 10:23 NLT)
God can be trusted to keep his promise. So, the question isn’t whether or not you will experience the promises of God. The question is…can you wait on Him?
Can you walk by faith even when you can’t see how it will work out? Can you obey Him, even when your circumstances haven’t changed? Can you wait for His promise, even if it’s taking much longer than you thought it would?
If you commit to believing…If you hold fast and obey…If you continue to wait on Him…you will not be disappointed. You will receive everything that He has planned for you. And…you will get to experience the miracles He’ll perform along the way.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for creating me for a purpose, and thank you for all of the amazing promises that you have in store for me. Today, I have been reminded that although you have promises available to me, I must have faith, I must walk in obedience, and I must wait on you. You are a loving Father, and you just want what is best for me. So today, I am making the decision to follow you. I will walk by faith, I will follow your plan, and I will wait until you do what you said you would do. Thank you in advance for your faithfulness, Father. I love you. In Jesus name, amen.
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