Most items in our daily routine such as appliances, cars, and the like require some sort of engagement to get it to work. A button needs to be pushed. A clock set. A key is placed in the ignition, or if driving a smarter car, a fob is activated, or a code is punched in the pad to ensure a start. There is usually something on our part that must be done to get that item to work.
Yet, when it comes to the promises in the Word of God many take a passive approach. There is no participation on our part to purposely grab them for ourselves.
We quote the verses, and we know all the right lines to rehearse, but are we actively seizing the promises of God and holding on to them for dear life when challenges arise? Are we engaging God’s Word when difficulties come up during the day?
God’s Word is not an aquarium. In an aquarium, we view fish from the outside. We do not go in and interact with them. We watch them swimming along and think to ourselves how beautiful and peaceful they are. God’s Word is beautiful and peaceful, but it is also powerful, and it is meant to be lived out; it is meant to be interacted with, and it is meant to be active and activated in the life of every believer. Just as Jesus did when He activated the Word in full effect against the enemy’s attack (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10), so too, do we have access to the same Word power.
As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (4:12). There is nothing passive about engaging the Word in one’s life.
The activation and active grabbing of the Word does not just apply to commands, ordinances, statutes, and/or for taking a stand against the foe. But it also is to be used for God’s promises for in them are true treasures to hold fast to in times of trouble. Those holy words of affirmation mean that we can expect a measure of God’s assurance and of His acting on our behalf in whatever way He sees fit for the moment.
Even if it does not come when you want it to, and even if it doesn’t manifest itself as you thought it should hold on, dear friend, to the promises, “(for he is faithful that promised;)” Hebrews 10:23. God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). What He said He would do, that He will do. Our job is to trust, believe, and actively grab and engage the promises of God for ourselves.
In my younger days, we were told to tie a ribbon around our fingers to ensure we remember something. It is even better for us if we tie His promises upon our hearts.
Joshua tells us, “There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass” (21:45). Friend, our promises may look different than theirs, but the promises we have are just as sure as the God who gave them.
They won’t fail because God won’t fail to keep them.
When Jehoshaphat was called to battle by the LORD, he was told, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you,” 2 Chronicles 20:17. He was told in verse 16, “The battle is not yours, but God’s,” and again in verse 17 above, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle.” But after both promises, he was given instructions for participation.
We cannot refuse the work of engaging God’s Word for ourselves. We cannot expect to reap without sowing. God is still the God of our battles, but He has also called us to be active participants.
Today, engage the promises, stand on the Word, and leave the results up to God. He knows what He’s doing.
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