Promises of God Will Never Fail

I remember hearing some preachers saying that God's promises are flying all around you; all you need to do is to reach out by faith and grab them. Sounds good, but does this work all the time? When you don't see this happening in your life, you may feel guilty and blame yourself for lack of faith. When we study the topic of the never failing promises of God, we have to analyze it from various angles.

1. Make sure that the promise we are looking at is God's promise

Just because it is in the Bible, it does not mean that it is God who made that promise. For example, look at this promise: "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours"(Luke 4:6-7). A very inviting promise! It is in the Bible. But who said it? The devil! 

Or it could be one person's promise to another. For example, Ruth's promise to the widowed mother of her deceased husband is recorded in Ruth 1:15-16. Though this is ideal and very uplifting we must realize that this was one woman's promise to another, not God's. Ruth fulfilled it and she was blessed for it. But all widows cannot assume that their daughters-in-law who lost their husbands will be so loyal and follow them wherever they go.

Human nature may change as well as their circumstances. But God's promises are indicative of His character. He is unchanging and so His promises also will never fail.

2. Does the promise you hold on to have a universal application?

In John 21:18 there is a promise of Jesus Christ to Apostle Peter that he will be an old man when he is led to death. In Acts 12 we read how young Peter was delivered from the prison on the eve of his intended beheading by Herod while another apostle James was beheaded. And Peter lived up to an old age and it is believed that then he was crucified upside down. We cannot appropriate the promise given to Peter and claim that all followers of Christ will live up to old age. In other words, you may be holding on to a promise given to one person in a particular situation and may not be for you.

Reading of Deuteronomy 28: 2-14 is very exciting. They were given to a people living at a time. But Verse 1 states that they should demonstrate that they faithfully obey the voice of the Lord God by being careful to do all his commandments that Moses commanded them that day – all the rules of Deuteronomy. We who live in the age of grace rightly affirm that we are not bound by all the ceremonial laws and strict punishment rules of the book. In the same vein we should realize that we cannot expect the literal fulfillment of the promises therein. Ours are all God's spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

3. Does the Holy Spirit make it relevant to your situation?

The above point shows the need for spiritual discernment. We may be facing a critical need in our life. A Bible verse we come across may give us some comfort. But when we don't see its fulfillment, we may feel let down and blame God. We must ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in understanding the promise we came across and show us its relevance to our situation. As spiritual people if we do not get an assurance from the Holy Spirit we should leave that promise there and move forward with our life.

4. Examine the condition attached to the promise

I understand that almost all promises of God are "if........ then." They have one or more conditions attached. In the text for the theme under discussion (Joshua 1:2-9) the promises to Joshua are I am about to give the land to the Israelites.

I will give you every place where you set your foot.

No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life.

As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

You will be successful wherever you go.

The LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

In order for God to fulfill all these promises, there was one condition that God placed on Joshua and his people : Get ready to cross the Jordan. How does Joshua get ready? God goes on to tell Joshua,

Be strong and courageous.

Lead the people.

Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you.

Do not turn to the right or to the left.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

In the following chapters of the book, we find out how God helped Joshua and the people of Israel as Joshua ordered the officers of the people to obey God (1:10). As long as they were faithful in doing what God asked them to do, God was faithful in keeping His promises.

The importance of obeying the condition behind the fulfillment of God's promises may be illustrated from a New Testament passage. Romans 8:28 contains an often quoted promise. We Christians are familiar with the statement that all things will work together for good to them that love God. There are many among us who wonder why this does not happen in our lives. A detailed analysis of this verse is beyond the scope of this article. But it helps to examine whether the reason is that we do not fulfill the conditions. I see two conditions here.

Firstly, do we truly love God? If we love God, we must love others, we must obey all His commandments and must live according to the will of God. Obeying the rules of the church and performing certain rituals (including participation in public worship and the Lord's Supper)may be good for church membership, but are not sufficient evidence of loving God. As we come to the end of Romans 8 we see the depth of that love. No force in the world will be able to separate us from the love of (and for) God. 

Secondly, are we sure that we are called according to His purpose? If so, do we fulfill that purpose? The next verse makes it clear that the purpose is to be conformed to the image of His dear Son, Jesus Christ. If we do not have an earnest desire, dedication and submission to have the nature of Jesus that He exhibited while He lived on earth, we do not have any right to claim the promise of Romans 8:28.

God is unchanging and His promises will never fail. We may not be seeing the fulfillment of His promises not because He failed in bringing them about but we failed in fulfilling the conditions attached to them.

5. Waiting, preparing, fighting and praying will be necessary

The promise to Joshua was that, under his leadership, the Israelites will conquer the inhabitants of the Promised Land and occupy it. But it did not happen in one day. The Book of Joshua covers a span of 25 years. First seven years of conquests, and the rest of occupying it by dividing the land and settling the twelve tribes. They were years and days of waiting, preparing and fighting.

The excitement and enthusiasm of the people of Israel when they came to the edge of the Promised Land did not force them to say, "Oh! we have God's promise and we will jump into this river and walk across and settle in the land God has promised to us." No, they had to wait, follow the instructions of their leader and obey the divine order. Waiting and preparing were necessary.

A miraculous crossing of River Jordan, supernatural fall of the wall of Jericho, conquest of this strong city, then defeat at the hands of the ruler of a weak city Ai and many more events took place before God's promise to Moses was fulfilled under Joshua's leadership.

When Joshua and his people obeyed, there was progress toward the attainment of the promise; when they disobeyed there were setbacks.

The Israelites were not lazy once they entered the land. God's promises are carried out when the people obey Him and work with Him. Apostle Paul says that we are co workers with God (2 Corinthians 6:1). If we do not cooperate with Him we should not expect Him to do everything unilaterally. Sure, God did miracles on certain occasions, but, formost part, it was not God who did the fighting for the people; they did it.

Most promises do not have attached to them a time on the human scale. God decides when they will happen. So we will have to wait patiently until His time. They would be days (or, maybe, years) of waiting, expecting and praying. God never fails.

The waiting period is very hard, but we should be confident that

God is faithful and He will fulfill His promises if we obey the conditions. This should be a period of expectation and prayer. Do not let doubt and despondency climb into your mind and cause you to lose faith in the faithfulness and ability of God. In order to be hopeful one should continue in believing and praying.

6. Do the promises you claim in your life help you to mature spiritually?

Unfortunately the promises we are usually holding on to are the ones given in the Old Testament and they pertain to winning wars, destroying the Philistines and other enemies around them, having many children, getting great crops, etc. Jesus turned the tables around. The New Testament says that our God will supply all our needs (including material needs) according to His riches. This promise leads us to His glory. Another great promise is that He will never leave us or forsake us. If we confidently hold on to these assurances and many similar ones, it will help us to grow spiritually and to be conformed to Jesus' nature so that we will be His better representatives in the world.

Material prosperity is not a general New Testament promise. It does not mean that you should always be poor. If God has given you innovative ideas, ability for inventions, natural talents, and skills, use them for His glory and the extension of His Kingdom. If your endeavours lead to material prosperity be thankful to Him, enjoy it not forgetting that His primary purpose for your life is His glory.

7. Be cautious about promises in personal prophesies

The Holy Spirit may use a person to give you a promise. But be aware that all so-called prophecies are not from God. Evaluate whether they are in agreement with the Scriptures and are a confirmation of what the Holy Spirit has been talking to your heart.

Do they build you up spiritually?

In conclusion, we can say that God's promises will never fail because immutability is His nature. Before blaming God for not fulfilling certain promise you consider very important in your life, ascertain the following:

It is truly God's promise and not a hunch of some well-wisher or prophet, It is for you, not for certain Biblical character in a particular situation, You are obeying all the conditions specified in the Scripture, and It will help your spiritual growth.

Then rest assured in the goodness and faithfulness of our unchanging God.