Make Promise to God and Fulfill Them

So, the LORD makes promises to me. I accept those promises and expect that He will follow through on them. And as the great and merciful God He is, He does.

“¹³And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring…¹⁵Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’” – Genesis 28:13 & 15 (ESV)

Above you can see the promise of God to Jacob that was revealed in a dream. The key thing I am seeing is that the LORD promised something to Jacob and as He says in the last sentence, “I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”. The LORD makes promises to us and we expect that He will fulfill them.

“²⁰Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²²and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.’” – Genesis 28:20-22 (ESV)

But, what about us. Do we reciprocate to Him with promises of our own? Jacob did. I did accept the gift of salvation from Christ. I did promise to go wherever He would have me go and do whatever He would have me do.

It is not just about making the promises. It is about fulfilling them. I know that I can and will count on God to fulfill His promises (even if I am frustrated by the timing of His fulfillment). I know that He promised me eternal life in heaven and that I would not ever thirst for Him. I know that those promises are being fulfilled, because I do not thirst for Him as He is with me always. But, am I fulfilling the promises I have made to Him.

I sit here in the mornings studying the Word of God and doing my best to learn from Him and take that learning into the world with me. I write about my learning in obedience to Him. I feel as though I am fulfilling my promises to the LORD, but am I?

I know I should not be selfish and look for the LORD to give me something in return for the work, but the work is exhausting if I am being transparent with my thoughts. I don’t pretend that all is rosy and wonderful, as I do struggle daily. I recently stated to my wife, asking, “when am I going to acknowledged”.

And, that is the deal. I did not promise to the LORD to get something out of it. I promised to the LORD to give something to Him. There is nothing for me in this world. I am here to do the work and receive the reward later. I promised to do the work. I did not say, “yea God, I’ll do it, but only if you do this”. There is no quid pro quo in this world with the LORD. He made a promise to me and will fulfill that promise. I am to do the same.

What promises have been made to or from you? Is there an expectation of fulfillment in those promises? What if you looked at the promises from God as those that will be fulfilled and you then reciprocated with promises that will be fulfilled of your own?

The LORD Fulfills Our Desire

Yes.

“¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

¹⁹He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them.”

— Psalm 145:18-19 (ESV)

The LORD is here for and gives to those who love and are devoted to Him. He hears our cry and desires and answers the call. Can any of us say that about those in the world. Think about it. You cry out, is there a person in this world that will always come running. You have a desire, is there a person in this world that will fulfill it. The LORD does, every time.

There are times that I cry out and, nothing. I really want something and, it does not come. Before we get into specifics about how you feel as though you are left hanging, even in the LORD, remember that everything is in His timing and plan. We are simply here to work the plan the LORD has for us and remain steadfast as we wait on Him. When I cry out or really want something, in either case, it is likely that it is not in His plan. Or, He will provide the resolution, just not right now, when I feel as though I should have it.

The LORD is there for me and will ensure that I am provided for. Look at the above and first part of the below verses and see the love that is in Him toward us, His children. Know that the LORD is always with us. He fulfills all that we need when we call out to Him from our hearts.

“²⁰The Lord preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.”

— Psalm 145:20 (ESV)

And then there is the second part to the above verse. He will destroy all who are against Him. He hears and fulfills the desires of His heirs and all those who are not, they will be dealt with in due time.

The LORD is our provider. He will give to us all that we need in the time we need it. Even our desires. When we are in the LORD, our desires will be centered on Him and His glory. We will cry out to Him and He will hear us. He will save us and deliver our desire when we are fully devoted to Him.

Where is the LORD in your life? Are you calling to Him in hopes that He might deliver you? What if you called out knowing He would deliver you and your desire thanks to the devotion you have in Him?

Life Through Righteous

Living a complete and fulfilling life seems just out of reach. It is thought that only the rich are the ones that get to experience it all. And I guess if you are living a life based on a monetary rewards system, then yes, it is true, money leads to fulfillment. But…

“³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.”

— Proverbs 11:30 (ESV)

Lori and I sat over the weekend and were able to simply enjoy ourselves as we looked at where we are. We were talking about our boys and where they are. We simply took the time and the chance to marvel at the fact that things are pretty great. We have raised our boys to be contributing members of society. We have our health as we are not restricted by medical conditions. We are content with what we have monetarily. We have wants for sure, yet all of our needs are met. All in all we have a great life. And it would not be possible without the LORD.

I look at the above verse and think of how all of what we have is thanks to the benefit of being a follower of Christ. We are members of a Christ following community and want to contribute to that community as a result. We do for others without expectation that we get anything in return and yet, inevitably, we are blessed for it. We give and in return receive greatly. And that is only due to the giving from the heart in the name of the LORD. We are get to live life to the fullest thanks to generosity of the LORD as He thanks us for the work we have, continue, and will do. We experience the tree of life providing continual fruit thanks to the work we are doing for the LORD.

“¹Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” – Revelation 22:1-2 (ESV)

What are you gaining through your works? Are you living and struggling on the idea that somehow you are not gaining monetarily through them? What if you were to look at the gains you have received through your righteous action for the LORD and know that they will be continual thanks to His love?