Holding on to God’s promises

Every promise in the book is mine,
Every chapter, every verse, every line,
All the blessings of His love divine,
Every promise in the book is mine! 

Sometimes, this sweet little chorus keeps rolling off our tongue ceaselessly. But, can we tell how many promises are listed in the Bible, without the help of a Web search engine? I agree, it’s difficult. 

While the chorus is too generic, it reassures us that all His promises hold true for us. But, do we know them by-heart to let them spirit us up? Not really.

Then, how do we realize when a promise is fulfilled? Most often, we don’t. Isn’t that how we lose a count on our blessings? And, if we don’t have a count of our blessings, how do we testify of His goodness in our lives?

We all have testimonies to share. If we look back at them and see, most of them are about how we’ve been healed, or how God helped us come out of a painful situation, or how He protected us from a terrible accident. Are we claiming His promises and pleading for His help only when we’re in trouble? 

Did you know testimonies can come out of our mundane lives too? They may not be as dramatic as painful situations, but they’re still valid to proclaim His power and goodness. 

How can we be His witnesses in our daily life? By claiming His promises. 
How do we remember them? You don’t have to by-heart all the promises listed in the Bible. Take one at a time.
But, they’re all mine, aren’t they? Oh yes, of course!

Here’s an illustration to explain it better –
Do you eat all your meals at once in a day? No! Do you eat once for a lifetime? No! Why? Because you know how much your body needs. Morsel by morsel at regular intervals. 
As simple as that!
That’s how your faith works – one step at a time.
That’s how you claim promises – One by one. 

Can you imagine sitting all day claiming promises? Nah! God doesn’t like lazy people. 
For Him to move, you ought to take the first step of faith. He doesn’t expect you to sit and chant mantras.

There’s no standard way that you should stick to, but let me walk you through the pattern I follow –

New Year’s promise is so dear to me. From my childhood, it has always been a fanciful pick and I believed with all my heart that it’s going to be fulfilled in my life that year. As I grew up, the enthusiasm of getting a new promise every year intensified.

Here’s what I do with it – During my daily devotions, I claim that promise all through the year, irrespective of delight and distress. In a way, I’m meditating on that one verse along with my regular scripture reading. 

Moreover, I pray and ask God to speak to me. He never fails to reveal Himself in new and unique ways through the same unchanged scripture. I get a chance to meditate on the scriptures, with a new perspective. If there’s a promise He’s making, I claim that, too.

One of my friends, Madhuri, who also requested me for this blog, has a favorite verse – Matthew 7:7 (Ask and you shall receive), which means a lot to her. She doesn’t just mark it as her favorite, but mediates on it everyday. She doesn’t just claim it, but tries to understand what God wants her to do, by learning the prerequisites of that verse – 1 John 5:14 (asking according to His will).

Lesson Learnt – We cannot manipulate God’s promises to suit our needs. We should do what it takes for Him to move.

Now, why is claiming a promise important? We know our God is a Promise Keeper and He never fails. He definitely doesn’t need reminders.
We’re not claiming to remind Him of His promise.
If we don’t have a self-reminder, we either forget and give up on them, or blame God and turn away from Him.

Let’s take an example from the Bible –

If you read the passage from Joshua 14:6-15, Caleb claims for a promise made forty-five years ago. And, he claims it with the same strength he had so long ago. Claiming it helped him receive it. 

What’s stopping you from claiming your promises today? 
You’re never too late, or never too old to claim God’s promise. 
Patience and Perseverance of your Faith matters.
Keep holding on and claiming them upon your life. They’re meant to be yours. 

Testimonies:
Here’s how He fulfilled our promise – a beautiful package that we cherish every day of our lives – a miracle growing up – our bundle of joy!

I’d love to hear your stories on promises fulfilled. Don’t forget to mention them in the comments below.