Word of Encouragement (8/5/2020)

A while ago, Elizabeth gave me a book titled Living by God’s Promises by Joel R. Beeke and James A. La Belle. I recently picked it up and I have been very much blessed by it. So, I’d like to share with you bits and pieces of it in the coming weeks.

The authors begin by showing the importance of understanding the nature and various kinds of God’s promises before we seek them. I think that is quite obvious but also worthy to remember. The first thing they talk about is how divine promises are different from divine commands and threats, the three ways by which God’s Word calls for obedience: “…precepts or commandments, which teach obedience; threats, which restrain disobedience; and promises, which confirm [here, used in the sense of “strengthen”] our obedience” (p. 2). God’s commands show us what He requires of us. The threats show us what will happen if we disobey. And God’s promises “confirm what God, motivated by His sovereign mercy and good pleasure, will do for us” (p. 2). (Of course, God’s threats are a form of His [negative] promise but the authors are here using the word “promise” in its positive sense.)

How does God’s promises confirm/strengthen our obedience? God’s promise “declares God’s will concerning the good with which He will bless us or the evil He will remove from us. The promises of God are a storehouse of blessings and a chest of goodwill bequeathed to us by our heavenly Father” (p. 2). We can see how knowing God’s promises is fundamental to our Christian life: while they do not teach us what duty God requires of us, it motivates us to obey God with thankfulness and joy. I hope you are excited to reflect on God’s promises in the coming weeks.

What are some promises of God you can hold on to as you begin this new day and face various challenges? How about a couple from last week’s sermon? “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me” (Isa. 49:15-16); “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Ps. 50:15). How can these promises of God encourage you and motivate you to do His will today?

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