Living Through a Promise
Driving down the road last week a song came on called “Build a Boat” by Colton Dixon. It reminded me of all the Bible stories where a promise was made and then much time elapsed between the promise and the fulfillment.
Some promises were direct and said when the fulfillment would be, still others were visions of things to come with no exact timeline attached. Each promise was unique with nothing but faith in God’s faithfulness to compare between them all.
At the time I was feeling discouraged and struggling with knowing the promises God has given me but not seeing any glimpse of them on the horizon.
Part of the problem is that on paper years take seconds to read so it never feels like the promises in the Bible stories took that long to come to fruition but many of them did. Their hardship doesn’t sound as bad because it doesn’t affect directly. Some of their lives were bland and uneventful (when compared to others) and some experienced crazy things but all were required to traverse unknown territory and leap beyond their comfort zone.
I am beginning to see that the practical and the out of the ordinary are all part of my process of living through a promise, just like it was a part of theirs.
In fact, I am convinced “comfort zone” is not a phrase in God’s vocabulary. 😊 Hearing that song brought about a time of reflection. One that made me consider what it really looks like to live through a promise or promises yet to come.
And this is what I found.
Living through a promise is no easy feat nor is it glamorous.
It is lived out in the practical everyday moments faithfully taking care of the needs of life while asking God to give me direction on what He desires me to pursue in life, right now, whether it makes sense or not.
Joseph was living through a promise in prison taking care of prisoners with no hope of freedom in sight. Abraham was living through a promise when travelling as a Nomad in the desert after leaving his hometown behind to go…well…to the land which God would show him (super clear directions right?). Noah was living through a promise with every nail and board he placed together for the Ark knowing that every day brought him closer to an epic, scary, sad historical moment that would quite literally reshape the face of the earth. Mary was living through a promise every day she carried Jesus in her womb and took care of her husband and fled from those seeking to kill him (Jesus). Moses and the children of Israel were living through a promise with every mile he led them through the desert. Joshua was living through a promise with every city and people he was tasked to drive out of the land and if it wasn’t obvious, war is not sweet nor nice. It is hard and messy.
But each one was given a promise, and the promise was seen through to the end. Joseph became second in Egypt, Abraham was given a son, and from that son nations. Noah was prospered and taken care of before and after the flood and from him mankind started over. Mary gave birth to Jesus and quite literally held the Son of God in her arms. Moses and the children of Israel made it to the promised land and although Moses did something that made his entrance to the land impossible, he saw part of the fruition of God’s faithfulness. Joshua and Caleb and the Children of Israel overcame their enemies and possessed the land as God said they would.
This leads me to the next important thing I discovered.
A promise is not a dead thing that requires no growth from me or zero changes in my circumstances.
In fact, I am pretty sure that God gives promises well in advance a lot of times so that I have something to grow toward while I mature enough to be able to receive, appreciate and live out the promise. Like a child ever measuring month after month and sometimes year after year until they reach the height they need to be to do certain things at a theme park and in general.
I know this from the Bible and from real life. Every promise given requires something from me (and/or you) and what that something(s) is/are is different per promise. And it requires a desire to obediently go beyond what makes sense to do whatever it is God is clearly telling me.
Think of Simeon. He was promised that He would see Jesus before he died. Can you imagine him getting older and older and wondering if it was all just a figment of his imagination? Yet he believed and he lived through his promise daily attending the practical things of a day until that moment in time came and come it did. David was anointed king to replace Saul and yet his living through the promise looked like being a fugitive on the run, creatively avoiding capture, showing immense self-constraint and humility and at one point, being the man to play calming music for the very king he was to replace. There was nothing passive about David’s role in living through the promise.
And the last thing I realized is this.
I will never really know how God is working a promise out until after the promise is fulfilled.
Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers. He was taken to a foreign land, never to see his home again. He was betrayed again by a conniving woman and thrown into jail unjustly. He was forgotten in that jail by the very man he helped and yet through it all God was teaching and maturing Joseph for the promise he gave him as a boy. Then, one night, Joseph went from being a no-account slave to second in command of a powerful nation. And yet the promise was not fully fulfilled. It wasn’t until his brothers arrived amid famine that Joseph saw the full meaning of the promises God gave him in dreams come to life. I think part of his tears were from an overwhelming understanding that every day of his life that he missed his family, the land of his youth, struggled with the unjust decisions of others and so much more lead to the culmination of a beautiful promise that spared his life, his family’s lives and the lives of more than he could ever count. He was never lost though he may have felt like it many times.
So, if you are like me, living through a promise, just trying to make sense of how to utilize your time wisely, contentedly, and purposefully you are in good company. I hope you are encouraged by these next few points that I keep reminding myself of (along with the 3 mentioned above) when discouraged.
1. I may not be where I thought I would or should be, but as I remain obedient to the Lord’s leading then I am right where I am supposed to be.
2. If life seems less than, it is my built-up expectations, not God or His promises, that are the issue.
3. When God doesn’t give me new directives for a long time, it isn’t because I have gone spiritually deaf to the Holy Spirit, the time simply isn’t right for the next step, yet God is still very much at work in the unseen, preparing the way.
4. Should I decide to go rogue and attempt to make the promise(s) happen on my terms and time, God may let me try and fail or He may stop me right then and there but either way, His promises will never fail, even when I do. I may delay them for a while or like Moses, deny myself the total fulfillment of one, but God will see to it that I am taken care of His other promises still stand.
5. Hardship doesn’t mean I am doing something incorrect or going the wrong direction. It is a part of the process of strengthening body, mind, and spirit to be able to hold the promises of God, in due season, with wisdom and responsibility.
6. Practical life is a part of holy living and God expects me to thrive where I am, doing the things that need done because there is a holy refining and spiritual strengthening that happens in a day lived as unto the Lord.
7. Promises take responsibility. Each day brings me closer to carrying that responsibility and God wants to ensure I am entirely ready for the beautiful role He has destined me to participate in.
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