Standing on the Promises of God

Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

For some reason this old hymn popped into my head during my morning devotions and I thought to myself, “Maybe I should fill a blog post with God’s promises.” Pulling them together encourages me and, if God uses them to encourage a reader here or there as well, it’s a win-win!

First, I acknowledge that I can’t begin to list the thousands of promises from the bible in this blog post or even in 100 blog posts. What I can do, however, is highlight some of the ones that have been meaningful to me over the years.

You see, I’m sometimes forgetful in terms of the Lord’s continued provision for my life. I also tend toward the melancholy at times. When these two issues combine, usually during stressful situations, it can stir me into a pickled frenzy if I’m not remaining focused on the Lord and his word. And sadly, this has happened way too many times. I hate it. It hurts mentally and physically. And it’s a sin to worry…which causes me to worry more.

The bible tells us to “fear not” and to “trust in the Lord”. I can confirm from my own experience that the more time I spend in His word or in prayer, the less I fear. The struggle for me is making sure I turn to Him before I turn to Google (smartphones can be both a blessing and a curse), or jump into my own “what-if” scenarios. I do see growth over the years and I am so thankful that God is patient and long-suffering.

What works well for me is to keep the locations of a few of my favorite verses written down so I can reference them quickly when I need them. I actually started this right after 9/11 when the terrorist attacks and the shock and sadness that followed was weighing heavily on me. I had about a dozen verses typed up on a small strip of paper taped to my computer monitor at work so that they were in front of me throughout the day. My wallet contained a second copy. In today’s smartphone era I can keep notes on my phone. Some of my most-referenced verses are also pinned to the bulletin board in my prayer closet. One is on my refrigerator. I’ve managed to actually memorize a few, but I’ve never been good at that.

I try to keep the following ground rules in mind when selecting my verses:

First, no cherry picking

Context is important! We need to be careful when we pull out a verse or two from God’s word, that we understand the context of the verses around them. Here’s an example (not necessarily a promise, but a statement that people tend to misuse):

“…You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2)

People sometimes take this to mean that if we just pray enough, God will give us whatever it is that we ask for. We’re disappointed when we don’t receive what we prayed for and our faith is shaken. What we’ve failed to do is understand the context of the passage as a whole. For instance, the verses that immediately follow the one above say this:

“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” (James 4:3-4)

God wants us to pray. He wants us to bring our requests to him (see Philippians 4:6). But he also loves us enough that he’s not going to be our personal genie who grants us all the wealth, material possessions, and life successes that we long for. Reading all the verses together make this clear.

Second, know your audience

Here’s another verse that, at first glance, looks like a promise of prosperity:

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” (Malachi 3:10)

Test the Lord, it seems to say. Bring your tithes and see just how much more he will bless you with in return. The problem is that these words were spoken by the prophet Malachi to the people of Israel prior to the birth of Christ. They were “stealing” from God by not giving their full tithe. God challenged them, through Malachi, to test Him – to see that he would fulfill his promises to care for them. God does keep his promises! But this passage was intended for very specific audience.

Some promises are just for particular individuals. For example, the Lord promised Abraham that he would make his descendants as numerous as the sand. But that’s a promise to Abraham – not to all of us.

So, without further ado…

Here are ten promises that I believe are for us as well as for the original audience who received them. Please verify for yourself that I’ve not taken them out of context. I am not a trained bible scholar. My degree is in accounting.

• Do not be anxious about anything , but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

• Trust in the LORD with all our heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

• Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

• Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!… (Isaiah 55:1)

• There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

• For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:12-13)

• For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

• Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

• Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

• Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

I pray that God would speak to you through the reading of His inspired words here today and that your heart would be encouraged!