(2 Corinthians 1:20) |
“But you promised...!”
Few three-word combinations express
more heartbreak, despair, and betrayal than those above. We've said
them as kids to a parent who didn't come through on some promised
treat. Some of us have said them to spouses who've walked away from
the vows expressed on a wedding day. They've come out of our mouths
in all manner of situations when we've felt wrongfully let down or
betrayed. Some of us have even said them to God.
We likewise hate being on the receiving
end of such an accusation. The words speak failure...even when
that wasn't our intent. Most of us mean well when promising actions
of one type or another. Sometimes, however, we find that we are
unable to come through as expected for any number of reasons. Perhaps
the words were spoken in haste or when under extreme duress. Life
circumstances sometimes intervene and physically prevent us from
accomplishing what we said we would do. And surely we are fallible
human beings who sometimes lie, fall to temptation or otherwise fail
to live up to the expectations placed on us by ourselves or others.
But God is infallible. So how does He
feel when we accuse Him of failure? Surprisingly, He wants us
to come to Him when the circumstances of life don't line up with what
the Bible says is ours through Christ, and the three-word combo above
are words He loves to hear! What makes all the difference in the
outcome of things, however, is the tone in which we speak them. Do we
say them in an accusatory fashion that suggests we tried things God's
way and are in trouble as a result? Or do we say them as a
declaration of faith in the One who keeps His promises, no matter
what the situation looks like in the flesh? It's the latter that
turns the promises of God into actuality in our lives.
It's okay to be honest with God about
the way things stand in whatever issue we're dealing with. As our
loving Father He wants us to come to Him and truthfully communicate
our feelings and concerns about what we're going through. But what
changes the discussion from a pitiful recitation of problems to
productive prayer is when we end it with the only words that make a
difference, and the ones that God is waiting to hear: “But You
promised...”, followed by the words He has given us concerning
the situation spoken back to Him in faith, despite how things may
look in the natural.
Of course, this only works when you
have a promise to declare! As believers we have a Book-ful of them,
as all the promises the Bible contains are ours to claim as a result
of Jesus' death on the cross. But there is nothing more wonderful
than to have gone to God with a problem and to have received a
specific word on the situation directly from His heart to your own.
It could be a Scripture verse that jumps off the page at you, a word
of prophecy specifically spoken about your future, or perhaps a line
from your pastor's sermon that you simply can't forget. That then is
a rhema word from God, a promise from His heart that is yours
to believe, recite, and claim as your very own. God is simply waiting
to hear you voice your belief in what He has to say, no matter what
things look like in the flesh.
Nothing expresses to God your belief
that He will come through as promised like thanking Him in advance
for doing so. Giving thanks before you see the answer you seek
changes its progression from the need for a miracle...to the seed of
one in the making...to finally just a matter of time.
“Abraham...didn't
tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He
plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that
God would make good on what he had said...”
(Romans 4:19-25 MSG)
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