Hebrews 12: 2 says “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God”. In this verse we are shown how Jesus was able to endure the painful death on the cross. He looked to the joy that He was to inherit after enduring the cross, and that became the fuel that urged him to overcome: “who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). We are now being called upon to look unto Jesus and do what He did, so that we may not loose heart but be able to overcome jus as He did: “Consider Him who endured… so that you will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:3). If we are also going to overcome in this world and accomplish all that God has purposed for us, we can only do it by keeping our minds and hearts always fixed on the promises of God. This is how Jesus, from whom faith comes, overcame – and this is how the faith He gives us work (cf. Heb 12:2).
Concerning this truth, the Scriptures have a lot to say. Hebrews 11:6 says “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”. When we come to God, He expects us not to only believe in His existence, but that He REWARDS those that diligently seek Him. Our knowledge of God as a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him must be an integral part of our faith in Him. Without this, we have not known God as He expects us to know Him and our faith is not as it’s supposed to be. Colossians 3:23-24 emphasizes this same truth “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. In other words, as workers of the Lord, the reward of the inheritance we have been promised to receive from the Lord should spur us on to work whole heartedly for the Lord. We are to keep our hearts and minds on God’s promised rewards to help us work heartily for Him. 2 Corinthians 7:1 adds this “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”. Here also, we learn that the promises God has given us of dwelling among us, welcoming us, being our God and Father, and receiving us as His sons and daughters (see 2 Corinthians 6:17-18) must cause us to dissociate ourselves from sin and filth, and should cause us to walk in holiness and in the fear of God continually. Again, we are told that it is by the promises God has given us by which we become partakers of His divine nature: 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 through lust (2 Peter 1:4). As we feed more and more on His promises, we become more and more like Him (cf. Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18). We also find Paul advising Timothy in the same way: This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, (1 Timothy 1:18). The prophetic words God gives us, which includes His promises to us, are not merely to make us feel or look good. These are words we must keep our minds on to enable us fight the good fight of faith.
So, we can see that the promises of God are indispensable in the Christian walk. God’s promises are meant to create in us hope, i.e. confident expectation that do not disappoint, which must drive us to faith and action to inherit those promises. His words of promise contain the power for us to live as He expects us to live (Ecclesiastes 8:4a, 2 Peter 1:4). They are also weapons He has given to those who love and diligently seek Him to fight and overcome in this world. May we not trivialize the promises of God and make them clichés of no value in our lives. Let’s saturate our minds and hearts with them. For by them, we shall overcome, just as Jesus did (Hebrews 12:2-3).
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
January 1, 2019.