Great and Precious Promises

"He has given us His very great and precious promises." ~ 2 Peter 1:4

When a shipbuilder erects a boat, does he do so only to keep it on the scaffolding? No, he builds it to sail the seas and to weather the storms. In fact, if he does not think of strong winds and hurricanes as he builds it, he is a poor shipbuilder.

In the same way, when God made you a believer, He meant to test you. And when He gave you promises and asked you to trust them, He made His promises suitable for times of storms and high seas. Do you believe that some of His promises are counterfeit, similar to a life vest that looks good in the store but is of no use in the sea?

We have all seen swords that are beautiful but are useless in war, or shoes made for decoration but not for walking. Yet God's shoes are made of iron and brass, and we can walk all the way to heaven in them, without ever wearing them out. And we could swim the Atlantic a thousand times in His life vest, with no fear of ever sinking. His Word of promise is meant to be tried and tested.

There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to publicly profess Him and then not use Him. He loves for us to make use of Him, for His covenant blessings are not simply meant to be looked at but should be appropriated. Our Lord Jesus has been given to us for our present use. Are you making use of Him as you should?

O beloved, I plead with you not to treat God's promises as something to be displayed in a museum but to use them as everyday sources of comfort. And whenever you have a time of need, trust the Lord. Charles H. Spurgeon

Go to the depths of God's promise,
And claim whatsoever you will;
The blessing of God will not fail you,
His Word He will surely fulfill.

How can God say no to something He has promised?

taken from Streams in the Desert

Becoming an Overcomer

Another theme that God has been weaving through my life is the idea of being an "overcomer." When I face difficulties, discouragement, or doubt, I tend to succumb to the temptation to give up--instead of relying on God to overcome these giants.

During my lunch break at work the other day, I flipped on the radio in my car and was encouraged to hear the song, "Overcomer," by Mandisa. The words really spoke to my heart! The chorus of the song reads:

You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

I certainly didn't FEEL like an overcomer at that point, or even that I could become one. But that night, God reiterated His desire for me to grow in this area. My devotional reading from Streams in the Desert spoke about overcoming difficulties. One of the most poignant sections stated:

Giants represent great difficulties, and they stalk us everywhere. They are in our families, our churches, our social life, and even our own hearts. We must overcome them or they will devour us, just as the ancient Israelites, fearing those in Canaan, said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size" (Numbers 13:32). We should exhibit faith as did Joshua and Caleb, who said, "Do not be afraid...because we will swallow them up " (Numbers 14:9). In effect, they told the others, "We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to defeat."

As I face new--as well as familiar--giants each day, I have God's promise that He will never give me more than I can bear, with His help (1 Corinthians 10:13). With His Word in my mind and the Holy Spirit in my heart, I have the ability to overcome anything that the enemy puts in my path. I need only to rely on Him and to allow Him to transform me into an overcomer, day by day.