We have been exploring the promises of God, those glorious declarations that invite us into a life far beyond our limited expectations. Yet what happens when we read these promises, claim them by faith, and nothing seems to change? The gap between what God says and what we experience can create real tension. I believe most of us face this at some point. Today, let me share three keys to navigate that space, moving from disappointment to a mature, proven faith where promises become reality.
The Honeymoon Phase of Faith
As it is written in Isaiah 65:24 (NKJV): “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.” Most of us, when we come to the Lord, go through a honeymoon period. It might be short or longer, but it feels like we are wrapped in the grace of God. I can remember seasons in my life where I would pray, and before I finished the prayer, something happened. It was cool in a way. You pray, and amazing things occur. In a sense, we sometimes mix up the metaphor of faith. As a young Christian, I used to look at faith as a mountain to climb. I read books about Finney, Wigglesworth, or others, and thought one day, in the far distant future, I would be a man of faith. If I could acquire enough information, knowledge, and experience, I would get there. The older I get, the more I think the opposite is true. Most of us need to unlearn things. Most of us need to become more and more childlike. If you were to go back 2000 years and hang out with Jesus, in one way you would see he had more knowledge of the scriptures than any person on planet Earth. But he had experiential, lived, real relational knowledge with his Father. I think Jesus was the most childlike person there has ever been. Possibly Adam was in that same state when God created him, before Eve showed up. That is a joke. Jesus, the second Adam, literally was like a child. I think Jesus was puzzled when he encountered the unbelief of the disciples. How can you guys not believe? I do not think he was being an expert. He was literally puzzled. How could you doubt God? When the angel Gabriel said to Zacharias, how can you disbelieve a word from God? Every word of God comes to pass. The angel was not being sarcastic. How is it possible? A 70-year-old, 50-year-old, whatever age Zacharias was, how could you doubt God? That is the place we have to reach. Our journey is not about acquiring more expertise and knowledge. It is actually about getting rid of more and more baggage, and coming to the place where we are childlike in our faith.
The Swamp of Tension
As it is written in James 1:6-8 (NKJV): “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat in faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” What most of us do is go through that honeymoon period. I remember a time as a young Christian. Maybe this is dumb. Maybe this is stupid. I am just telling you my story. I am not even saying I was right. As a baby Christian, I thought Christians could not get sick. I literally thought Christians could not get sick. I thought, Jesus is a healer. He is my Lord. How could anybody get sick? Again, I was 14 and healthy and naive. I am telling you my story. I will never forget the day. I can tell you exactly where it was in the town where I met my youth pastor. I think it was on a Monday or Tuesday. He had not been in church the day before. He turned to me and said, I apologize. I have been really ill, had a stinking cold. I could not go to church on Sunday. He said goodbye and left. It was like I got hit in the head with a hammer. I literally was like, he is my pastor. He is this amazing man of God, and if he gets sick, what hope is there for me? The next day, I woke up sick. Here is my point. My belief that a Christian could not get sick flew out of the window. Again, my point is not to talk about whether Christians can get sick. Of course Christians can get healed. My point is to say I was in this honeymoon baby thing of faith, and then reality hit. I think what most of us go through is three phases. We go through that honeymoon phase where we are childlike. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. This cannot fail. Is it not wonderful? The promises of God. Then most of us go into a second phase where we believe something, and what we believe does not seem to work, does not seem to come to pass, does not seem to actuate in our lives. Most of us hit this tension between my lived experience and the promises of God. As I said recently, what we do is we usually end up dragging the word of God down to the level of our experience rather than raising our experience up to the level of the word. We sit there in this pain. We sit there like a jury in a court with two different witnesses, one saying God is faithful, and the other saying no he is not. Yes he is. No he is not. The Bible talks about being double-minded. Most of us allow experiences and the trauma of those experiences to embed themselves in our soul. We kind of literally end up sitting there for the rest of our lives. We can live in this theological, theoretical, religious pretense where we go, hello, God is faithful, his word never fails. Then there is a real world where we go, yeah but. Most of us have more confidence in a plane, in a train, in the economy, in a politician than we actually do in the promises of God. We go to church on a Sunday. We put on our best clothes and we say hallelujah, I believe it is wonderful, and then we do real world stuff. This is a British pound note. There is the queen. Promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of 10 pounds. I have no doubt whatsoever that this 10 pound note will be accepted as I go around the UK. I know it will be. There are some currencies right now. I heard in Iran and the current situation, the inflation rate is 40 percent, something crazy. It is like every day prices keep growing and doubling. We lived through a degree of inflation with some of the foolishness coming out of COVID a few years ago. My point to you is this, that we should have confidence in the promises of God.
Moving to Mature Faith
As it is written in Romans 4:18-21 (NKJV): “Who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” How do we get out of that no man’s land, that tension, that swamp where we sort of know God makes promises, but they are not real? I believe there is a third stage. There is the honeymoon stage. There is the swamp stage, the place where God’s promises are there but they do not seem to be real in our life. I think there is a third place we come to. That is, in effect, a bit like the first stage but it is better. Because it is mature, it is proven. What we do is we do not make excuses. What do we do in the swamp, in the tension? We refuse to make excuses. Again, evangelicals are famous for making excuses. It is not God’s timing. It is not God’s will. There is something going wrong in my life. God is trying to teach me something. That works for real. It is not for me. One day it will. On and on we go with a million different excuses. What we have got to do is refuse to make excuses. What we have got to do is what I said yesterday. We have got to judge God faithful. We have got to stand there, and this is tough. We have got to stand there in the midst of our pain, our poverty, our struggles, whatever, and say God I believe you. I do not believe what I see. I mean I believe it is real what I see, but I do not believe it is permanent. I believe it is subject to change. I believe what I see can change. Heaven and earth will pass away. Your word will never pass away. I believe what you have said is real. We just stand there, again not denying the reality around us, but giving glory to God. It says in Romans 4 of Abraham, that Abraham had a promise from God. Then Abraham had a mirror. Abraham had a wife. Every day Abraham gets up, maybe he had written down that promise. He looks at the promise, your children will be like the sand of the seashore, the stars in the sky. Okay wonderful. The promise of God. Then he looks in the mirror, this nearly 100 year old man. He takes a peek at Sarah as she gets out of bed and he goes like this is not looking good is it? I will not go into any more details than that, but he is facing reality. The Bible says he grew strong in faith, hoping against hope. The Bible says he refused to consider the evidence of his own flesh or Sarah’s flesh. He did not deny it. He did not dress up as a 25 year old and try to be really cool. He acknowledged his body was nearly dead, but he acknowledged God’s promises were greater. The Bible says he called those things which are not as though they were. He called those things which are not as though they were. He grew strong in faith by giving glory to God. I think if you will stand in that tension, not deny the tension, not brush it under the carpet and let it come back as depression, but you will stand in that tension and say God I believe you. Paul stood in a storm and said sirs be of good cheer. I believe God. It will be even as he has promised me. That is glorious. That is amazing. I think if you will stand in that tension giving glory to God, what will happen is sooner or later, and I have never once seen this fail, the Holy Spirit will bring you through into step three, where you have faith but you also have testimony. You have faith but you have got the testimony of the obtained promise. You have faith in the word of God but you know what it is like. You are not saying I believe this because I read it in a book. You are saying I believe this because I read it in a book, God’s book, and I have proved it in my life. You then go from faith to faith and glory to glory.
These three phases show the journey many take with God’s promises. The honeymoon draws us in with childlike wonder. The swamp tests us through tension and doubt. The mature stage strengthens us with proven testimony. Stand firm, judge Him faithful, and watch promises unfold.
Selah.
Scriptures for Study: Isaiah 65:24, James 1:6-8, Romans 4:18-21, Hebrews 6:12, Luke 1:18-20, Matthew 18:3, Mark 9:24, Romans 4:17, Matthew 24:35, 2 Corinthians 1:20, Genesis 17:4-5, Genesis 18:10-14, Hebrews 11:11, Psalm 119:89, Joshua 21:45, Numbers 23:19, Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Kings 8:56, 2 Peter 1:4, Acts 13:32, Romans 4:21, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Galatians 3:16, Ephesians 3:12, Titus 1:2.
10 Questions for Reflection:
- Where in my life have I experienced the honeymoon phase of faith, and what made it feel so effortless?
- What promises have created tension for me, where experience seems to contradict God’s word?
- How have I made excuses for unfulfilled promises, and what would change if I refused them?
- In what areas do I need to become more childlike, unlearning baggage that hinders faith?
- Who in Scripture or my life exemplifies standing in tension while giving glory to God?
- What reality am I facing that feels permanent, and how can I declare God’s word over it?
- How has double-mindedness shown up in my approach to promises, and what steps can address it?
- What testimony from obtained promises can I recall to build faith for current challenges?
- Where have I dragged God’s word down to my experience instead of elevating my experience?
- How can I judge God faithful today, even amid pain or delay?
