“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world…” 2Peter 1:2-4
Have you ever become discouraged because the Lord didn’t keep a promise the way you expected? If so, the problem was not God’s faithfulness to His Word, but your understanding of Scripture.
First, not all promises in the Bible apply to us. Some of them are limited to a certain situation, person, or time. For instance, when God told Abraham and Sarah they would have a son (Gen. 17:15-16), this was His commitment specifically to them, not to anyone else.
Second, it’s important to realize some promises are conditional. Consider the Bible verse that says, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Psalm 37:4). This isn’t an open-ended guarantee that God will give you whatever you want. There’s a qualification: delighting in the Lord and desiring what He wants.
Even though some of God’s promises have conditions, there are many in the promises that apply to all believers:
- God promises to work all things together for good (Rom. 8:28)
- To be with us forever (Heb. 13:5)
- To give us an eternal inheritance in heaven (1 Pet. 1:3-5).
We can claim these with full assurance because Scripture explicitly tells us they’re God’s will.