Lesson 10: His promises are power.
This world is an incredibly difficult place to live in. Life is hard; situations are painful; confusing things happen. The enemy bombards us with lies, and we too easily get hopeless. In these dark places, it can be hard to simply put one foot in front of the other. The Lord knows we live in such a place – He did too. So, He has given us promises full of hope that give us the energy, power, and sometimes most importantly, the desire, to keep going, to keep walking through the valley, even the valley of the shadow of death, whatever that may be for you and for me. To persevere, we have to know and believe His promises; He didn’t give them to us in vain.
The words of the Creator God are nothing like mere human words. They don’t just give a boost of confidence or make you feel good for a hot minute. They bring matter into existence. They change history. They make dead people alive and well again. They change everything. They are power.
Swaziland was a month full of much doubt, confusion, and despair for me. I decided to make a list of the promises the Lord has given me through Scripture and personally, hang them in my tent, and read, declare, and pray them throughout the entire month. One night near the end of our month there, some squadmates and I stood on the brick entrance gate of the place we were staying, and together yelled and declared at the top of our lungs promises from the Lord that we needed and were choosing to believe. Something shifted in my spirit. I didn’t automatically start feeling like all those promises were true, but I started to be more and more empowered by those promises because I was agreeing with them, speaking them, and choosing to believe them.
Here are some of the promises I clung to that month:
“Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you.”
“I am with you wherever you go. I will never leave you.”
“I will work all things for your good.”
“Nothing can separate you from My love.”
“You can do all things through Me. I give you strength.”
“Seek first My kingdom, and all else will be given to you.”
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you.”
As I continue learning to steward God’s word, I’m learning to walk and talk in accordance with His word, even when I don’t actually really feel like I believe Him in a situation. For example, when there is a sucky situation, instead of ending the conversation at, “this is sucky,” and getting caught up and stuck in the despair and bad, I now say something to the effect of, “this is sucky. I have no idea how, but I can’t wait to see what good the Lord is going to bring from it,” even when I can’t imagine and don’t even believe that God can or will bring good from it, but I say it and speak in accordance with it because I KNOW His promise, and He has told us that He work ALL things for good for those who love Him. Sometimes I think we gotta walk and talk our hearts into believing things. I’ve found this to be a very good way to do that.
I’ve recently been convicted of not believing the Lord’s character, and therefore talking and making decisions as if God is a God who won’t always provide for His kids, who won’t always forgive me, who doesn’t always lead me to abundant life, and who isn’t with me and for me every second of every day. I’ve gotten off track of knowing and believing His goodness, faithfulness, lovingness, and all sufficiency towards me. I’ve asked Holy Spirit to nudge me when I talk and act out of wrong beliefs. I’ve asked a couple friends to do the same. God’s promises are still true whether I’m on board with them or not, but life’s so much better when I am.
Jesus, bring us on board with your promises – every single one of them. Holy Spirit, remind us of them in all sorts of ways – through your word, through our communities, through nature, through music, through art. Would you show us tangible ways we can walk and talk in accordance with your promises? Search our hearts and reveal our true beliefs, and bring them into alignment with You. Thank you that your promises are true and eternal. Thank you for giving us promises to give us vision and hope, to give us encouragement and to help us persevere. Our eyes are fixed on you, the greatest promise-keeper. Thanks that you don’t leave us floating and hoping in empty dreams and desires, but that your promises are true and are power. We believe you, God. Thank you. In Jesus name, Amen!
