(A final installment of God’s Promises series)
“We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”
Hebrews 6:12 NIV
We’ve been learning about God’s promises with a view toward experiencing them. As the above-quoted text reveals, we experience them “through faith and patience.” Faith is a relational word. In the context of today’s verse, it’s referring to trusting God. We can trust Him because over and over again, He demonstrates that He is reliable. The writer of this text also wants us to know that the promises don’t quickly appear. We need to identify them, ask for them to materialize and then we need to continue in faith, persevering (the patience factor) through trial. This is the nature of our journey.
It’s not unlike the farming process of sowing seed, the addition of time (with the components of rain and sunshine) and finally, harvest. Farmers learn that time is essential to the development of what they have sown in order to receive a fully ripened crop. Most of us are not farmers and have come to expect instant results. We must learn that waiting is normative.
Is there a particular promise which God has made that you ache to experience? Peace? Joy? Freedom from addiction? Freedom from resentment? Freedom from law-based/performance-driven living? Something else? God doesn’t dangle His promises in front of us to tease us, but to help us see that He wants us to experience more of the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). There’s no formula for experiencing them because they are experienced in relationship with God. Therefore, when you are hoping to experience a promise, focus your attention on the Promise-er! Also, do your best, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to thank Him that the promise you have requested is on its way.