“Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude” (2 Chronicles 1:9).
TEXT — 2 Chronicles 1:7-12
Message
The 1989, Armenian earthquake needed only four minutes to flatten the nation and kill thirty thousand people. In his book, “When Christ Comes” Max Lucado recounts a true story that came after that horrific earthquake. Moments after the deadly tremor ceased, a father raced to an elementary school to save his son. When he arrived, he saw that the building had been levelled. Looking at the mass of stones and rubble, he remembered a promise he had made to his child: “No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you.” Despite being told it was too late and encouraged to give up, he persisted for 38 hours, at the exact location where his boy’s class once stood, driven essentially by his commitment. Finally, after tireless digging, he heard his son’s voice and pulled him out of the rubble, keeping his promise.
God’s promises are not known to fail, even if heaven and earth pass away. Upon these unfailing promises of God rests the key verse for today’s devotion. King David desired to build a house, a magnificent temple for the Lord. He made necessary provisions for the project. He consulted with Prophet Nathan who gave him the go-ahead, telling him, “Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.” However, God had a different plan. In a night vision, He instructed Nathan to “tell David my servant, thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in…” However, God promised David a successor who will carry out this noble project. After King Solomon succeeded his father, God asked him to “ask what I shall give thee.” He remembered God’s promise to his father, King David to “raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom … I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him (1 Chronicles 17:11,13). Again, God honoured His promise and did as He said.
Believers today must learn to dig out the promises of God in the Holy Bible and reverently hold Him accountable to them like Solomon. He has promised to save, sanctify, provide for our needs, protect and preserve our going in and coming out. He promised that whatever we ask, He will do for us. No doubt, the promises of God cover all areas of our lives. For every challenge we face, it is instructive, like Solomon, to remind God about His promises concerning us. These promises are faith foundation underneath us. Standing on these promises helped the patriarchs of old to accomplish God’s plan for their generation. So shall those promises sustain us today as we hold on to them tenaciously.
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Thought for the day
God never makes too-good-to-be-true promises; He makes good His promises
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
