Joshua 21:45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

God’s promises are always true. However, at times we misunderstand them, and so either fail to appropriate them, or fail to recognize their fulfillment when it happens. The prime example of the latter is when so many people failed to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah, when an objective analysis from our current perspective shows that He fulfilled an amazing number of prophecies. Sadly, the majority of Jews today still fail to see that. As big a problem as that is, perhaps the failure to appropriate what God has promised is even more frequent. As came out in yesterday’s reading, often God’s promises require our active participation. It’s not that we could do those things on our own, but that we need to learn responsibility and accountability. Also, we tend to value lightly things we haven’t personally worked for. That’s why grace is such a difficult subject: by definition it can’t be worked for, but if God’s grace is taken lightly, we get in a world of trouble. God’s gift of Canaan to the Israelites was grace, with no touch of their having “deserved” it. However, they were required to go personally and take the land, working hard to make it their own. Virtually all of the promises in the Bible have some sort of condition attached to them. Salvation itself is given to those who believe, but we are required to believe. There are those who say that isn’t fair, that everyone is entitled to be saved. The fact of the matter is, NO ONE deserves to be saved, but God in His grace gives salvation to those who choose to submit their pride and their will and believe. God wants mature sons and daughters who value what He gives them, so He has given us His Word, His instructions for how He wants us to appropriate all that He has prepared for us.

I could probably go on for hours on this subject, because it’s so important. As a pastor, it is one of the central truths I am charged with imparting. However, if I am so focused on imparting it that I fail to implement it, then I myself miss out. Frankly, I haven’t been very energetic in my pursuit of some of God’s promises. Rather than just acknowledging that, I need to repent, which means changing my ways. I have a lot of inertia there! Apathy benefits no one, least of all me. I need to seek, receive, and apply the energy and drive to fulfill all the conditions God has laid out for the promises He has given me, so that all of His plans may be fulfilled for His glory.

Father, thank You for this Word this morning. Even after what You said to me yesterday morning, I wasted much of the day, failing to remember and take care of things You have for me to do. Forgive me. Today, my day is pretty well laid out for me, which makes it easy to be active in my obedience. Help me grow in active obedience when I don’t have an external schedule, so that I may avoid the traps of the enemy and walk in all that You intend, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!