“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said; As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”
Hebrews 4:1-3
Many Christians believe they are waiting on God for their prayers to be answered. However, the Lord has shown us in 1 Corinthians 1:20: “For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Two Thousand years ago Jesus died and rose from the dead conquering death and the curse. Galatians 3:13-14 declares: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Jesus appropriated every blessing, every promise of God for us and conquered every challenge we would ever face. All we must do now is simply use our faith to appropriate His promises. We can see in Hebrews 4 that the reason some ended up not having answered prayer is because they did not mix the promise of God with faith.
Numbers 13 and 14 document an account between those who mixed their faith with God’s promises and those who refused to believe. Joshua and Caleb believed God when He commanded them to take the promised land. They understood that God had already given them this land and all they had to do was go and enforce their victory. Sadly, the rest of the Israelites did not mix the promise of God with faith and ended up doubting what God had said was theirs. As a result, they allowed doubt and fear to steal their promised inheritance. They refused to go into the land because they focused on the giants that were in it, instead of fixing their eyes on the much greater promises that God had given them. Instead of possessing the land as God had commanded, they refused to believe and ended up dying in the desert. However, after 40 years, their children and grandchildren chose to believe and obey God, and along with Caleb and Joshua, finally moved to possess the land as God had commanded.
The key to victory and overcoming in our lives is to simply mix the promises of God with our faith and believe that what God said is what we are supposed to have. When we stir up and release our faith regarding anything that we need, we can rest assured that it will come to pass. As long as we can find the promise in God’s word, it is backed by the Lord Himself and when we release our faith, we can be confident that it will come to pass. We simply must take our stand and not waiver. We must cast out doubt and choose to believe. This is what Abraham did when God promised him to become the Father of Multitudes. In the natural it seemed impossible. However, when God gives you a promise you can rest assured that He will perform it. All we have to do is believe.
Let us enter this New Year ready to enforce our victory just as Joshua and Caleb did. They were eighty years old when they went in to possess the land, but God had preserved them as if they were still in their forties. They did not waiver or doubt. They stayed strong in faith knowing that God was well able to bring to pass what He had promised. Let us choose to take our faith to the next level this year. Be ready to take your promised land and enforce the victory that God has already paid for. Be strong and courageous and receive the promises by faith that God has given you!
Further reading: Numbers 13 & 14, Romans 4, Hebrews 11:1-35, Mathew 8, Mark 11:22-24, John 14:9-14
