We begin our salvation with a relational restoration, firstly with God (John 17:3) and then with each other. We then begin on a journey to discover all Jesus did for us on the cross. Since it was because of unbelief that Man fell, therefore it will be through believing God that we will experience restoration in every area of our lives. We need to believe God’s message before we can see the arm of God revealed (Isaiah 53:1, NIV).

Our journey begins when we are willing and desperate to find out what God has promised us in His Word. Many believers are not hungry enough to pursue God’s promises, that is why it often takes being brought to the brink of death or catastrophe before some people will turn to God’s Word. The Scriptures can prepare us for every good work (2 Tim 3:17) and his promises allow us to partake in God’s nature and keep ourselves from worldly corruption (2 Peter 1:4). His promises address every area of our lives, including our emotional health (2 Tim 1:7, NKJV), our family life (Acts 16:31, NASB), finances (2 Cor 9:8) and career (Psa 1:3). All of God’s promises are ‘yes’ for us in Christ (2 Cor 1:20) so we glorify God when we appropriate them and enjoy them in our lives.

In order to lay hold of God’s promises, we need to

1. Believe them – We need to know the truth because it is truth that sets us free (John 8:32). And we also need to believe the truth before we can understand it, because it is through faith that we can understand (Heb 11:3, NIV).
2. Speak them – Jesus commanded us to speak to the mountain (Mark 11:23, NKJV), because when we believe we will speak (2 Cor 4:13). Our tongues have great power over our lives (Pro 18:20-21). God formed the world through his words (Heb 11:3) and so we are invited to frame our personal worlds through our words.
3. Act on them – Faith calls for corresponding action (Jas 2:17). The woman with the issue of blood believed in Jesus because of what she heard (Rom 10:17) and she spoke out of her faith (Mark 5:28). After that she had to act on her faith by pressing through the crowd, overcoming the obstacles of custom and her religious upbringing to finally receive her miracle (Mark 5:27).

Further Study:

1. Consider the account of David and Goliath in 1 Sam 17:25-58. Where in that account do we see the three steps to laying hold of God’s promises?

2. Consider the account of Elisha’s resurrection of the Shunammite woman’s son, given for us in 2 Kings 4:18-37. What can we learn from the words of everybody involved in this story?