God also promises peace and rest. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7. Who of us long for peace and rest? In this busy world that we live in, we often feel harried. We often feel as though we have no time to ourselves—we have no free time. You know, a place of solitude, a place of rest, a place of quiet would be very valuable to us.

Beyond this, God also promises—once again, Philippians 4, verse 19—“…and my God will meet…” some of your needs?; a few your needs?; part of your needs?… No. Paul says, “…and my God will meet ALL your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4, verse 19. May I ask you, “What’s left? What else is needed?” He furnishes ALL of our needs. This He has promised, and His promises CANNOT fail.

You may say, “Well, John, that all sounds pretty good, but, you know, I just have difficulty seeing God’s promises at work in my life.” Well, how do we know if someone’s promises are true? Let me suggest to you that the best way to know is to put them to the test—see if they work, see if they are true, see if they come to pass. In this regard, then, I ask you, “Have you really tried to let God’s promises work for you? Have you really tried to let God’s promises work in your life?”

God promises to hear our prayers. BUT, we must initiate the communication.

God promises to set us apart. But if we choose not to associate with the elect, God will not “nail us down in place.”

God promises to be able to be found, and even to be our companion. But if we don’t seek Him, we’ll never feel His presence, and we’ll never know Him.

God promises no temptations beyond our ability to endure, and He will even furnish a way of escape when we are tempted. But if we continue in willful sin, He will not keep us from it. AND if we, when we are tempted, don’t seek the way of escape, He won’t “push us through the door.”

God promises peace and rest. But if we continue to carry our own load of sin and guilt, we’ll never know peace. The Hebrew writer, in Hebrews 12:1, says, “Lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us.” Someone said, “If your Christian life is really a drag, then perhaps you’re dragging around too much worldly weight with you.”

How comforting to KNOW that we have all of these promises, and many, many more, to stand upon as a foundation, as fortification in our troubled times—and to KNOW that these promises NEVER can fail.

In closing, let me remind us of God’s greatest promise of all. Listen to these familiar words from John 3, verse 16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in HIM should NOT perish, but have everlasting life.” Yes. God promises eternal life to those who believe and who will obey Him.

Now, God desires that ALL men be saved, and like all of His other promises, He will keep this promise. BUT…there is an antithesis to this promise—a “flip side,” if you will allow me to say it that way. Because God also promises eternal condemnation to those who disbelieve. Listen as I read again from John, the third chapter, verse 18: “He that believeth on Him is NOT condemned; but he that believeth NOT is condemned already.” And just like all of God’s other promises, He will keep THIS promise also.

The lesson is yours. I trust that it has been an encouragement to all of us in being reminded that in our troubled times, we CAN and SHOULD STAND ON THE PROMISES OF GOD. And we can be assured that just as He did with the children of Israel in the long ago, that “not one Word of His promise” made to each one of us will change or be left unfulfilled.