I am afraid that all too often I let “dark reason be my guide” when it comes to the promises of God. Often times it seems as though God has not come through on his promises and so I have found a way to reason away the promise until it no longer contains any hope. It is true that sometimes God answers differently than I expect or that his promise does not have the exact application I am hoping for, however, I am beginning to see that this has become my default view of God’s promises. The end result is a lack of peace and doubt in the promise. Instead of simply believing the promise, I think of all the possible exceptions and expect my situation or desire to be one of those. I see now, how true Charles Spurgeon’s words our, “My friend, if you have a divine promise, you need not plead it with an 'if' in it; you may plead it with a certainty. If, for the mercy that you are now asking, you have God’s solemnly pledged word, there will scarcely be any room for caution about submission to His will. You know His will. That will is in the promise. Plead it. Do not give Him rest until He fulfills it. He meant to fulfill it, or else He would not have given it.” Instead of reasoning about the application of the promises, I need to plead the promises expecting him to give me far more than I could even think to ask of. Andrew Murray reminds me that God will always answer and faith that perseveres will inherit the blessing. He states, “We must come with the personal prayer, and the faith that there will be a personal answer.” Murray continues stating, “Blessed the man who is not staggered by God’s delay, or silence, or apparent refusal, but is strong in faith, giving glory to God. Such faith perseveres, importunately, if need be, and cannot fail to inherit the blessing.” Finally, I am comforted by David’s words in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
I write all of this because writing helps me to solidify what God has taught me, but I share it in hopes that others might be encouraged. The Christian life is hard and challenging, but praise God he can never lie (Heb. 6:18) and therefore His promises are true—always.