By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
Alan Jackson has a song I love. It says,
“Standing
on the promises, I cannot fall
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all
Standing on the promises of God
Standing,
standing
Standing on the promises of Christ my Savior
Standing, standing
I’m standing on the promises of God”
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word promise is a declaration that one will do or refrain from doing something specified. It is also a legally binding declaration that gives the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.
The word promise is found in the Bible 77 times. It’s found in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Wow! When something is mentioned 77 times, that means it’s important.
I read a sermon by Rev. Charles Stanley called “How to Claim a Promise”. In it, he asked three questions I want to share with you.
First, he asked “Who has a right to claim a promise from God? The Lord’s promises belong only to believers, with one exception. Unbelievers are free to claim His promise of salvation when they trust Jesus as their personal Savior… Another essential requirement for claiming a promise is trust. We must believe that God will do what He has said.”[1]
In Mark 11:22 Jesus said, “Have faith in God.” Grace, we can claim a promise from God. Galatians 3:29 assures us, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Amen.
His second question was, “Why does God promise us anything? First of all, the Lord makes promises because He loves us unconditionally and wants to give us guidance, provision, and protection. Secondly, He reveals Himself in ways that display His awesome wisdom, power, and grace. There’s nothing we can do to deserve His promises, so it’s our responsibility to simply believe and depend upon Him to fulfill them all.”[2]
Grace, God didn’t have to promise us anything, nothing, nay thing, nada, not a drop; but he did. It’s our job to hold fast to his unchanging hand. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen, what a reminder of our connection with God and our ability to stand on the promises.
His third question was, “How can we know God will keep His promises? His character is our guarantee. Since He’s perfect, unchanging, constantly truthful, and all powerful, He won’t fail to keep His word. Nothing is impossible for Him. There is no situation the Lord does not have a solution for, and there is no question He can’t answer. Every promise in God’s Word is sure, and if we use the Scriptures as our compass, He’ll show us how we should live.[3] Amen.
2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us, “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. Hebrew 10:23 tells us to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
When I think about God’s awesomeness and the promises he’s made to us, I think about the many dreams I have, you have, we have. If we know he will keep every promise and will give us the desires of our heart, it’s our job to get busy praying and thanking God for his provision.
Pastor Mark Batterson has two books: The Circle Maker and Draw the Circle. Here’s the Cliff Notes version. They both encourage the reader to circle the promises of God in their Bibles. The first book focuses on what it means to dream God-sized dreams, pray with boldness, and think long-term.[4] The second is a 40-day prayer plan to pray for the circles.
I want to challenge us for the next 40 days as we read our Bibles, let’s circle the promises of God. Let’s also put our roles as stewards first and foremost in our minds, our prayers, and our service. Let’s let God direct us in how to use our time, talent, money and resources. If we stand on the promises of God, there will be no lack in our lives, we will run and not be weary, and according to 1 Peter 1: 4 we will have, “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”
God keeps every promise; let’s claim one every day!
[1] Stanley, C. (n.d.) How to Claim a Promise at file:///C:/Users/rebek/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/How-To-Claim-a-Promise%20(1).pdf
[2] Stanley, C. (n.d.) How to Claim a Promise at file:///C:/Users/rebek/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/How-To-Claim-a-Promise%20(1).pdf
[3] Stanley, C. (n.d.) How to Claim a Promise at file:///C:/Users/rebek/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/How-To-Claim-a-Promise%20(1).pdf
[4] https://thecirclemaker.com/explore fffffffffffffff