God's Promises: Part 4

[Gary Petty] God makes promises to us. Sometimes we don't think about that. It's amazing to think that the creator of the universe, the great God says, "I promise things to you." And you know, God, when He makes a promise, He's gonna keep that promise. So we need to understand those promises. We need to go to those promises. We need to read them in the Scripture, and we need to go to God, read the Scripture to Him, He inspired it, and say, "God, you made this promise. I'm weak, I'm small. Please fulfill this promise in my life." You got to grab hold of it and hold on to it.

One of the things that's so difficult in this life is there is so much suffering. We suffer, we see others suffer. And sometimes as a Christian, we can just struggle with, "Why is there so much suffering? God, why are you not blessing me more? You know, why am I sick? Or why have I had a child die?" Or the different things we go through, they're just terrible. And we think, "God, why?" There's an interesting promise that God made, that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 4:12-14. Here's what he says. And he's talking to people, Christians who were going through serious trials at the time. There was persecution on the Church. He says, "Beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing has happened to you. But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. For if you're reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the spirit of glory and of God rest upon you." Little farther down here, he writes. "Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as a faithful Creator."

He says as we go through these trials, the trials that we go through because we are a Christian, sometimes you lose a job. Sometimes you lose friends. Sometimes family turns against you. Sometimes we suffer as a Christian. What he says here, when you go through these things, God will give you comfort, and God will give you purpose, because He's using these things to create us into His children. We cannot be created into the children of God without some suffering. We have corrupted human nature. We have to learn to overcome. We have to learn to accept God. We have to learn to follow Him. And we have to learn to grab hold of His promises, and have faith in those promises. And remember, He is faithful. Every time you doubt God because you're suffering, remember something, He is faithful. We are not always faithful, but He's faithful. He is going to fulfill in your life what He promises. He is gonna give you comfort. He's going to give you purpose in your suffering. So go grab hold of that, on your knees, before God. Claim the promise.

Next time, we'll cover one more promise that God has made to you that can change your life. This is BT Daily. Join us next time.