{"id":3685,"date":"2023-06-21T02:52:07","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T06:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/?p=3685"},"modified":"2023-06-23T07:32:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T11:32:19","slug":"the-promise-led-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/?p=3685","title":{"rendered":"The Promise-led Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now, O LORD, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.\u201d<\/span> (1 Chron. 17:26)<\/p>\n

We happen upon David as he prays (vv.16-27) in response to God\u2019s gracious initiative to him (vv.1-15). The Lord had promised to build David a \u201chouse\u201d (i.e., a dynasty). In so doing, God promised to put one of David\u2019s sons on his throne and that son would be the one to build Him a \u201chouse\u201d (i.e., a temple). We can see, thus, the keyword throughout this chapter is \u201chouse.\u201d In response to this divine grace and promise David responded in humble, overwhelmed faith.<\/p>\n

Though this is a unique moment in God\u2019s saving plan, David\u2019s response to the Lord illustrates what should be our response to God in His gracious dealings with us through Jesus. He has told us that in Jesus \u201call the promises of God find their Yes\u201d (2 Cor. 1:20). We too, then, like David, should sit before the Lord (1 Chron. 17:16) amazed by His grace, an open Bible before us, our finger on the promise of God, praying, \u201cO LORD, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this way, by faith, through Christ we claim the gracious promises of God made to us.<\/p>\n

Consider more closely David\u2019s response that we might be the more careful to make it our own.<\/p>\n

We begin by approaching the \u201cLORD.\u201d<\/span> The English translation uses all capitals to signal that the original Hebrew text has here God\u2019s personal name, Yahweh. This name was revealed to Moses at the burning bush as he wondered at God\u2019s promise to use him to bring His people out of slavery (Exodus 3:14). It is related to the Hebrew verb \u201cbe.\u201d He is the great \u201cI AM.\u201d Wherever we are and whatever we face, God is \u201cI AM.\u201d Not \u201cI was.\u201d Not just \u201cI will be.\u201d \u201cI AM\u201d in this moment with you everything I have ever been or will be. It signals that God is eternal, yes. He is without beginning or end. But it further sets God before us as self-existing, without dependence upon anything beyond Himself. Before anything else was, God was, undiminished and utterly complete. If all else were suddenly vaporized, God would still exist without compromise or need, for His being and existence arise from within Himself and are dependent upon nothing. He comes to us and out of nothing in us but everything within Him, He makes and keeps a covenant of grace with us through His Son. One expression of that grace is the promise upon which you have placed your finger today.<\/p>\n

But He is also here designed \u201cGod.\u201d<\/span> The Hebrew here is Elohim. It emphasizes His sovereignty and power. Nothing can oppose what He wills. Nothing can block Him in fulfilling His promises. What God in His grace wills cannot but come to pass!<\/p>\n

So with Bible open, your heart bowed before this magnificent God and LORD, your finger on one of His gracious promises in the Bible, you pray: \u201cyou have promised this good thing to your servant.\u201d<\/span> This kind of faith is not presumptuous. It merely follows God\u2019s lead. It is not brash. It honors the God who spoke the promise with every intention of fulfilling it in His children\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

But note the way you designated yourself: \u201cyour servant.\u201d<\/span> Take a moment and reestablish that fact before the Lord in prayer. Take that place at the foot of His throne. Humble yourself. \u00a0Wait until you can do so authentically, then tell Him: \u201cI am bowed at your feet, poised to do your will. Whatever, wherever, with whomever, for however long is required. I am ready to do your will, O Lord, but as I am, I have my finger on this, your promise, to me. I hold it up before you. As I rise and go to do your will only to return to bow again at your feet, I do so with the bold expectation that you will uphold your promise, make it my experience, and thus prove your faithfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are not magic words. But this is the path to laying hold of and living in the fulfillment of God\u2019s promises to us in the Bible.<\/p>\n

Lord, make this promise-led, promise-fed, promise-tread path be our perpetual experience with you in this world. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd now, O LORD, you are God, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.\u201d (1 Chron. 17:26) We happen upon David as he prays (vv.16-27) in response to God\u2019s gracious initiative to him (vv.1-15). The Lord had promised to build David a \u201chouse\u201d (i.e., a dynasty). In so doing, God promised to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,99,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-discipleship","category-prayer","post-preview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgYGxX-Xr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3685"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3690,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3685\/revisions\/3690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jkitchen.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}