... what we see as a “no-go” is actually God saying to us, “Wait until you see the blessings I have for you above and beyond how you applied My promise to yourself!”
Do you know what the word "promise" means? You might be thinking, well that’s a silly question, of course I do! And I would’ve answered the same way. But what I didn’t realize is the biblical definition of the word "promise" is quite different than a promise between you and me.
The KJV Dictionary defines "promise" as follows:
“In Scripture, the promise of God is the declaration or assurance which God has given in his word of bestowing blessings on his people. Such assurance resting on the perfect justice, power, benevolence, and immutable veracity of God, cannot fail of performance.”
Based on this definition, we can see that a promise is more than just the spelled-out words of God's promise. It is about Him bestowing blessings on His people in perfect justice, power, benevolence, and immutability as God.
The above definition provides a perspective shift even on the promises of God. We may think one of God’s promises didn’t “come true” in a given situation, but God works in mysterious ways and what we see as a “no-go” is actually God saying to us, “Wait until you see the blessings I have for you above and beyond how you applied My promise to yourself!”
No matter what, we can live in the hope of God’s promises even if they don’t play out how we expected them to. Why? Because we have His assurance that He will bless us through that promise regardless of the outcome.
I’d like to use that perspective along with some examples from the Bible of those who, indeed, received what was promised. Some waited much longer than others, but in the meantime, they were able to live in the hope of those promises in three key ways:
1. Devotion and Prayer
"And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem." Luke 2:36-38
Just a few verses up from this passage, we read that Simeon finally saw the Christ when He was brought to the temple for circumcision. Many years earlier, God had promised Simeon that he would not see death until he saw the Lord’s Christ. Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit, was looking for the consolation of Israel. Anna, with a common desire, was in the temple for many years fasting and praying for the redemption of Israel. Through her service in the temple, she was in a privileged position to see the wonder of Jesus and the fulfillment of God’s promise to Simeon.
Anna and Simeon lived in the hope that they would see the redemption of Israel as promised through the prophets of God. Their lives of devotion and prayer showed this living hope. Simeon was given special revelation about Jesus which he shared with Jesus' mother who treasured those things in her heart. Anna praised God and shared about the Redemption of Israel with all those she encountered. They did not spend their lives doubting but in full expectation that what was promised would come to pass and, indeed, it did. Oh, what joy and blessings they experienced!
You might be someone who has been praying for years for a loved one to come to know Jesus, but with no answer. I want to encourage you with a testimony I heard at church years ago. It was about a mother who prayed every day for her son to come to faith in Jesus. The testimony was given by her son posthumously. She died before her son came to know the Lord. In fact, it was years after her death when he came to faith. But he did!! Clearly, she trusted the Lord and His will concerning her son and still lived her life in the hope and joy that what she desired would come to pass because she never gave up praying.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him." 1 John 5:14-15
May we live in the hope of God’s promises through devotion and prayer. Look for the blessings in the waiting for we know that the Lord will bless us through that promise.
2. Obedience
One of the most amazing stories of living in the hope of God’s promises through obedience is Mary, the mother of Jesus.
"The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word…” Luke 1:30-38
This was an incredible “ask” by the angel because she was a virgin who was betrothed. She would conceive before marriage and birth the Son of God!
I wonder what questions came to her mind. “What will my future husband think?” “What will my parents think?” “What will the officials do if I am exposed?” “What will the community think?” Remember a woman caught in a “sin” such as this would have been stoned. Yet she saw herself as a bondslave of the Lord and said, “May it be done to me according to your word." She trusted God to protect her despite all the possible opposition and, indeed, He did. Through Mary’s obedience, she demonstrated amazing hope in the promise of God.
As Mary continued to live in the hope of God’s promise, she received many blessings. Along the way, she was called "blessed among women" by her cousin Elizabeth, she birthed her son, God’s Son, and heard from Simeon about all that Jesus would be. She treasured those things in her heart and experienced the joy of hope fulfilled.
3. Humility
The role of the shepherd in biblical times was lowly work. They lived in isolation, many times in a faraway land, and were often discarded by the world and unwelcome by most. That’s why the account of the angels heralding the news of Jesus' birth to the shepherds is so amazing.
"When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." Luke 2:15-20
The humble shepherds received the news with wonder and excitement. They lived in hope by pursuing what they had been told with full expectation and anticipation, and they were rewarded with seeing Jesus! When we are proud or selfish, we are not able to receive God’s promises because we are too focused on ourselves. When we are humble, we receive with elation and joy what God has promised.
"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.'" Matthew 18:2-5
Have you ever watched little children? They get excited over the most random things, seemingly ordinary things. Me and my husband’s favorite walk is on a boardwalk that winds through a pretty woodland area. Along the way, there are little ponds, marshes, and a bridge. We always know when children are coming down the boardwalk, even if they are at the beginning of the trail and we are in the middle because we hear the gleeful sounds and shouts of the children taking in the sites of the boardwalk. My granddaughter and grandson are no different walking that boardwalk. It’s a joy to behold.
I think little children are like this because they are humble. They don’t have high expectations and face life with fascination and awe.
We have a God who is always “doing a new thing” through His promises.
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18
Let’s live in the hope of God’s promises through humility, taking our cue from the little children.
When we live with hope in the Promise-Keeper through prayer and worship, obedience, and humility, our lives will be blessed.
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29
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