Do You Believe God's Promises Are Specifically Meant for You?
Promises seem to be a thing of the past. It’s not a sentiment you hear too often anymore. Just me? When I was a little girl in the 60s and 70s, my neighborhood friends and I were always making promises to each other. In fact, I think the whole “pinky promise” might have started then. One area where promises were made in a plea fashion was to ask for something from my parents, which was sometimes met with reasons why I wouldn’t be rewarded, such as not having cleaned my room when asked. Suddenly, little Karen launched into expectant hope by declaring, “I promise! I promise! I’ll clean my room!” Then I would get the proverbial response, “We’ll see…” I find it interesting that as children, we were constantly making deals with a promise as the verbal surety deposit. I’m not sure where we learned promise-making from.
With adolescence comes the hard lessons of broken promises, usually in the form of the first heartbreak with a boyfriend or girlfriend. I don’t know when promise rings became a thing, but a girl would accept a promise ring with much joy in her heart, believing that she would be together forever with her boyfriend. However, statistically, at such a young age, that wouldn’t end up being the case and the whole significance of the promise ring would be shattered in the girl’s mind.
I wonder if the reason adults don’t typically use the term “I promise,” or if they do, it’s taken with a grain of salt, because of all the broken promises of childhood and adolescence. When recalling what childhood promise-making might have looked like, it was all insignificant as far as life goes, but it still set a pattern of distrust about any type of promise.
The only promises we can trust with certainty are God’s promises. The entirety of God’s Word is filled with God’s promises to us. However, some of those promises are written to a specific person or audience, which may cause some confusion about whether that particular promise is really meant for us as well. Yet, even if a promise is made that only fits that time in biblical history, the promise speaks to the character of God and still translates as a promise for us.
Let’s take a look at how we can take hold of God’s promises and remove any doubt about whether they are meant for us or not.
Conditional Promises versus Unconditional Promises
The word promise means “a declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen.” When thinking of God’s promises, it’s not just any “one” that will do a particular thing, but the “One and only God”—the promise-keeping God. Yet, it can still be difficult to believe His promises. We haven’t seen God in front of us, speaking directly to us. Instead, we have witnessed flawed people breaking their promises to us. As a result, we carry those experiences and attach them to the Lord, making it hard to believe His promises.
"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" Numbers 23:19
God makes conditional promises that are contingent on our faith or obedience. He makes unconditional promises based solely on His character and faithfulness alone. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of God’s conditional promises and his unconditional promises. Every story in God’s Word reinforces that the Lord delivers on what He has promised. The Bible is the means by which the Lord communicates with us. It is His testimony to encourage us that we can believe God’s promises are specifically meant for us.
Some of us might bristle at the thought of God making conditional promises, but it is through the condition of our faith or obedience that we will be blessed. It’s not a means to make us perform, but a way to draw us closer to Him. Not only are we then rewarded with the promised outcome, but we receive so much more as we grow in our relationship with Him.
God’s unconditional promise was to never again flood the earth. Remember, he sent the flood initially because sin was rampant in the world. Yet, after the flood, sin returned with a vengeance, but God has kept His promise. We benefit from that promise even now! A promise made so long ago is specifically meant for us today!
Whether conditional or unconditional, every promise of God can have its fulfillment in us as well. It will always be the essence of the promise that will fit with our circumstances and God’s will for us, which is always for our good.
Abrahamic Covenant Promises
Early in Genesis, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, and through that covenant He made three promises: The promise of land, the promise of descendants, and the promise of blessings and redemption. This is an instance where a promise was made directly to Abraham, but we benefit from those promises as well. Not only that, we were on God’s mind when He made this covenant. We are part of the descendants who have been blessed with the gift of salvation and will one day live in the Promised Land of Eternity.
We can be spurred on by Abraham’s response to God’s promises through his belief, which did not waver. Before outlining the covenant promises, the Lord said to Abraham, “Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great” (Genesis 15:1). The Lord’s promise was accompanied by encouragement.
Our Heavenly Father will do the same for us. When we search His Word for a specific promise meant for us, we will find Him because He “rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6b). The Lord understands our weakness. He has compassion when we have trouble claiming His promises. But He waits patiently, and when we seek Him, He will gently lead us to the point of believing His promise is specifically meant for us.
As we dig deeper into God’s promises, we will see that the ones that seem specific to a Bible character carry a promise for us too.
The Overarching Promises of God
Early on in my walk with the Lord, I bought myself a little pocket-sized handbook that categorized God’s promises by need. For someone who struggled with anxiety, I found it so helpful and reassuring. Sometimes it isn’t until we go through trials that we allow ourselves to be open to claiming God’s promises as specifically meant for us. The Lord sends us trials to draw us closer to Him so that we will come to a place of surrender in believing that His promises are intended for us as well.
God’s character speaks to His promises. If we were to go through the names of God, each one would basically highlight a promise. And if those promises are tied in so closely with His names and He is our God and we are His children, then how could those promises not be specifically meant for us?
The following overarching promises of God embody who the Lord is and how each and every one of His children are stakeholders in these promises: I will be with you (Deuteronomy 31:8); I will strengthen you (Isaiah 41:10); I will protect you (Psalm 91); I will answer you (Jeremiah 33:3); I will provide for you (Philippians 4:19); I will give you peace (John 14:27); I will always love you (Romans 8:38-39); and the list goes on.
Many biblical accounts showcase these promises and may appear to be exclusively made for the character in the story, but as we have now seen, every promise of God is also specifically meant for you.
Let’s all walk in confidence knowing that the promises of God are specifically meant for us, and may that belief show those promises fulfilled.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Ivan Nadaski
Originally published April 09, 2025.
