The Promises of God

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. (2 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV)

The key to all our victories in Christ is the promises of God.

In the Pilgrim's Progress, the pilgrims, Christian and Hopeful are stranded in Doubting Castle, which was owned by Giant Despair. The Giant beat them in his dirty dungeon.  He tried to persuade them to take their own lives.  They took his abuse for four days until they decided to pray.  At that point, they realized they already had the key to releasing them from Doubling Castle, which was God's promises. They were bound by fear and discouragement.  When they started to use the promises of God, the doors and gates commenced to open, and they escaped.  The whole process was set in motion by prayer.  Prayer was never intended to be a one-way street, not just God hearing from us, but us hearing from Him.

 When the Devil leads us into our Doubting Castle, we stop reading God's Word and praying.  Praying and hearing what God is saying to us are our life-lines.  Without them, we are powerless to resist the Devil's abuse. They had God's assurances of His protection, but they were not appropriating them by faith. How do we appropriate these promises?  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17 NLT).

Are you in Doubting Castle, being mistreated my Giant Despair?  The Devil is lying to you to steal your hope, with which you have no faith.  The antidote is simple, believe God. "I shall never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).  Trust the promises of God, and the truth will set you free.

The image is used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes, the author of  “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
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