Continuing with the subject of prophecy, we direct our attention to the promises given by prophecy. Prophecy is what creates the promises that we live by. It is God making known the testimony of Jesus in you and then making a commitment or promise that He will finish what He starts. The prophecy itself is a promise, and there are differences between prophecies, but sometimes the promises have to be revealed or pointed out so you can see them. When prophecy speaks, it is intended to give you a clear perception of God’s will for His word in you. When He adds His promises, you will be left with no doubt that the prophecy will come to pass.
We find a good example of prophecy with promise in Joshua 1:1-9. Up until this time, Moses had been the leader of Israel. After Moses died, God transferred the prophecy He gave Moses to Joshua. It was time for a new leader in Israel, but the prophecy was to carry on the same as with Moses. It was Joshua that was anointed the leader of Israel after Moses died. With such a big responsibility, he needed the guidance of the Lord, and He did not disappoint. Not only did the Lord prophesy to Joshua, but He also gave him promises.
Joshua 1:1–9
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua had a clear direction with purpose, but he also had a promise that God would be with him wherever he went—having that promise made Joshua invincible. If you follow his life, you see that God took the prophecy that He started as far back as Abraham and fulfilled the prophecy in Joshua’s life. Prophecy is powerful, but having a promise in your heart will not let it fail.
When God speaks a prophecy, it creates a promise for you to walk in until the prophecy is fulfilled.
A promise from God produces an expectation that God will be with you until the prophecy is fulfilled. A promise helps you stay in the will of God, even in your greatest trials and temptations, knowing that the prophecy will eventually be finished. You will be tested, but God’s promise gives you the confidence to overcome. This is why your perception of the promises of God must be clean.
So let’s get to the point. First, a promise does not mean you are lacking anything in God. This thinking is usually the way a lot of people perceive a promise. You might think that you are not in the will of God because the prophecy is not finished. When you perceive this way, you always look at your surroundings and judge the promise by earthly perception while thinking you need more. This is not walking in a promise; it is the unbeliever. Believers walk in the hope of prophecy as if it already is!
It would help if you remembered, and this is key, that prophecy is finished in Christ, so your end is sure and will be completed. How would He know to speak it to you if it wasn’t finished in Christ?
The right way to perceive a promise is that you are in the perfect will of God as you are moving toward fulfilling the promise that God gave you through prophecy. You are not lacking; instead, you have everything you need to continue walking in the promise. Having any other perception means you will always think you fall short of God’s will. And that is not the will of God for you.
Even when you are experiencing evil, it is needful for you to learn to trust the promise.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Psalm 23:4-5
There are many examples in the Bible about God’s people not believing the promise and falling short, but it was not the way it had to be. The ones who believed in the promise always got to see their promise fulfilled. (See Hebrews 11 for details). God will answer every prayer along the way and provide you with everything you need to fulfill his prophecy. Proof of this is in Deuteronomy 8:1-10.
Your perception of walking in God’s promises should be that you have an abundance and not that you are in lack.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all, making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:1-6
When you learn that the one who gave you the promise can’t lie, you will realize that you don’t lack anything. Be patient, look forward, and give everything you’ve got to the promise God gave you, and you will see it fulfilled in your life.