I have been told that the written word of God contains approximately 7,000 promises from God to His people. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” This means that we have access to every single promise of God through Jesus Christ. Thank You Jesus!
Some of God’s promises are unconditional – like when God promised to never again flood the whole earth with water (Genesis 9:11), but other promises are conditional. Conditional promises means that God requires something from us, and if we act in obedience, then God will bring these promises into fulfillment. I have personally received both unconditional and conditional promises from the Lord. During times of great difficulty and testing, I have clung to these promises because they have given me the hope and faith I have needed to persevere. Some of the promises the Lord has made me are slowly coming into fulfillment now, but many others I am still waiting for.
Normally there is a waiting period from the time the Lord makes us a promise until that promise is fulfilled. During this time, we may go through hard times and testing, but His promises help us by giving us the hope and faith we need to endure the trial. The Lord uses the time to do a deeper work within us, as we await the fulfillment of His promises. He develops our character so that we look more like our beloved Jesus.
How do we know if a promise is from the Lord?
Every promise in the written Word of God we have access to, however some of the Lord’s promises to us will be very specific to what we need, as well as what we are going through. From personal experience, I found that when the Lord made me a specific promise, He confirmed it many times, thus giving me faith that the promise was from Him, and that He would be faithful to fulfill it.
Because there will most likely be a waiting period for each promise to come into fulfillment, the Lord strengthens our faith and hope in His promises, by continually confirming His promises to us. There is actually a pattern of this in Scripture which I would like to show you:
Abraham is well known in Scripture because of His great faith. God made Abraham very specific promises, and He confirmed them many times to Abraham to strengthen his faith and give him hope, because Abraham had to wait 25 years for the promise of God to come into fulfillment.
(Abraham) who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was able to perform.
Romans 4:18-21 NKJV
Let us now take a look at how God made the promises to Abraham, and strengthened his faith by confirming the promises:
An instruction from the Lord given, with a promise:
Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV
- God confirms the promise to Abrahm:
God confirms His promise to Abraham, thereby building his faith. Likewise, when a promise is from the Lord, He will confirm this promise to us which builds our faith in Him.
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants (seed) I will give this land.”
Genesis 12:7 NKJV
2. The promise is confirmed for the 2nd time, and details are added to the promise:
If a promise is from God He will confirm it and add details to the promise, thereby strengthening our faith, and giving us renewed hope in Him to fulfill His promises to us.
And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
Genesis 13:14-17 NKJV
3. The promise is confirmed for the 3rd time, and further details are specified (Abraham’s heir would come from his own body):
At this point, Abraham still had no children, therefore he assumed that the descendants of his household would be the heir.
But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one (Eliezer of Damascus) shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Genesis 15:4-6 NKJV
4. The promise is confirmed for the 4th time:
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates – the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Genesis 15:18-21 NKJV
5. An instruction given, the promise confirmed for the 5th time, and expanded upon:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram (Lit. Exalted father), but your name shall be Abraham (Lit. Father of a multitude); for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Genesis 17:1-8 NKJV
God the also gives Abraham the sign of the covenant: every male born must be circumcised, and Abraham is expected to obey this instruction from the Lord. (Genesis 17:10-14)
6. The promise is confirmed for the 6th time and specifics are given:
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah (Lit. Princess) shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
Genesis 17:17-19 NKJV
But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.
Genesis 17:21 NKJV
7. The promise confirmed for the 7th time:
And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Genesis 18:10-14 NKJV
One part of the promise is fulfilled:
And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac.
Genesis 21:1-3 NKJV
Abraham faces the ultimate test:
Abraham received his promised son from the Lord, even when in the natural it seemed impossible. He experienced God’s faithfulness and goodness. But, Scripture tells us that God then asked Abraham to sacrifice his only begotten son (Isaac). It stands to reason that Abraham’s faith would have been tested during the 25 year waiting period for the promise to be fulfilled, but I believe that this would have been the ultimate test of faith. Why? Even though Abraham had received his promised son, there were still other promises from God which needed to be fulfilled based entirely based upon Isaac staying alive:
Examples include:
- Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” – Genesis 15:5 NKJV
- In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” – Genesis 22:18 NKJV
I absolutely love this next Scripture from the epistle to the Hebrews, because it tells us that even though Abraham knew that God’s other promises were completely dependent upon Isaac staying alive, he was still willing to obey, because he knew God would be faithful to fulfill all of His promises. Scripture tells us that Abraham concluded that God would simply raise Isaac from the dead. God had worked so much faith, hope and trust into Abraham, that Abraham knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that God would keep His promises. Abraham knew God’s character and His faithfulness. He knew that God would could not go back on His word, because he had personally experienced God’s faithfulness in the past.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
Hebrews 11:17-19 NKJV
I would like to close off this message with a word of encouragement. God is faithful! Choose to trust Him. Just as God fulfilled every promise to Abraham, He will do the same for us. God also gave Abraham very specific instructions on his journey which needed to be obeyed. Likewise, God might ask us to take the next step He shows us in faith, which will bring us one step closer to the fulfillment of His promises. Even if it seems daunting, just know that He is there with you every step of the way, guiding you, leading you and encouraging you to keep moving forward. Just as God worked so much faith and hope into Abraham by continually confirming His promises to Abraham, He will do the same for us.
Also, if you have already received promises from God, may I encourage you to share your story with others. Your testimony may give someone hope and faith, especially if they are facing a similar struggle.
Blessings in Jesus’ precious name.