Faith in His promises

“Then they despised the pleasant land, having no faith in his promise” (Psalms 106:24)

There’s much we can learn as believers in the New Testament age from the wilderness wandering of the Israelites in the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10”6-11). 

After hearing their cries, God brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt to bring them into the pleasant land—the promise land. However, the majority of them that came out of the bondage of Egypt, died in the wilderness never making it into the promise land. 

Similarly, God in Christ sets us (believers) free from the bondage of sin (power and penalty) to bring us into a fruitful and life transforming relationship with Him (1 Peter 3:10). Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). However, there are many professing believers that seem to be stuck in a spiritual wilderness never making it to a place of abundance—a place where they become spiritually mature and walking in the fulness of all that God is for them in Christ. 

The journey from Egypt to Canaan was an eleven-day journey. It took them forty years to get there. Essentially, they wandered in circles. Why? They had no no faith in the promise of God (Psalms 106:24). In fact, their lack of faith not only kept them from possessing their promised possessions, but they despised the promise land. Whenever they encountered obstacles in the way, they told Moses that they were better off in Egypt. 

I believe that the greatest hinderance to professing Christians today—the reason they are not walking in the fullness of all that God saved them for is little or no faith in the promises of God. Oh, they may profess to believe in the promises of God, but when faced with obstacles, trials and tribulations, they doubt, murmur and complain. They may even turn to seek refuge in Egypt—at the places, among the people and in the practices that they were enslaved to and that God brought them out of. Are we not despising the promises of God when we do so? 

God allows trials and tribulations to bring us into a fuller, richer and more abundant relationship with Him. He will allow trials to increase our faith through them for greater fruitfulness ahead. There’s a song that says, “If I never had any problems I wouldn’t know that God could solve them, I wouldn’t know what faith in God could do. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon the Lord.”   

It’s been said, “A faith that can’t be tested can’t be trusted.”  What does it mean for our faith to be tested? It means that there will be times in our lives when we will have to exercise our faith—when we will have to decide to cling to the promises of God, or go another way. Clinging to the promises of God will cause them to become realized in our lives. We will experience the power, presence and or provision of God when we cling to His promises, especially in difficult times. When we look backward to Egypt we will get what Egypt can do, but when we look upward to God, standing on His promises, we will know what only God can do. Oh, we must not doubt in the dark what God has revealed to us in the light.   

What does it look like to have faith in the promises of God?  In the longest chapter of the bible, which are prayers expressing faith in the word of God, the Psalmist prayed this most unusual prayer, “Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope” (Psalms 119:49). The reason I say that this is a most unusual prayer is because it’s not a prayer that I hear believers pray much today. It’s not a prayer that I have prayed much in the past. However, it’s obviously a biblical prayer, which teaches us something vital about laying hold of the promises of God. To experience the promises of God, like the promise of His provision to meet Christ centered needs, (Philippians 4:19-20), often we must step out in faith. We may have to move forward in obedience to what God is calling us to do even when we don’t see how it’s all going to work out. But we must also claim or stand on the promises of God in prayer. For example, God promises to give extraordinary grace for extraordinary seasons of life (2 Cor 12:7-10; James 4:6). But we learn from Hebrews 4:16 that this promise is laid hold of through bold and confident prayer in the name of Jesus. Jesus promised to send the presence and power of the Spirit to His disciples, who were to wait for it in Jerusalem (Luke 24:48). But although He promised to send the Holy Spirit, while they waited in Jerusalem, they didn’t wait for it while twiddling their thumbs. They waiting in an upper room in prayer (Acts 1:14; 4:31).  

To some it may seem too bold to pray like the Psalmist prayed, “Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope” (Psalms 119:49). But to God, it’s a mark of great faith in His promises. God delights when we are confident enough in His character and promises that we hold Him to His Word in prayer, which He has made us to hope. The God of the mountain is still God in the valley. Trust in the promises of God.