"Unfulfulled Promises" (intro from my new book)
Many believers are living with unfulfilled promises of God in their lives. At some point God made them a promise. Gave them a dream. There was a desire in their hearts that could only be satisfied with the fulfillment of that promise.He promised that a loved one would be saved. He promised to enlarge His ministry in you. He gave you a glimpse of your destiny. A dream, a vision, a hope of a better life. But it has not happened, in fact, it looks like it will never happen. It looks as thought the promise is dead.Several years ago the Lord began to speak to me about unfulfilled promises. Delayed expectations. The Bible says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”I realized that I knew of a lot of people who were suffering from deferred hope, from delayed promises. Many believers who had received a promise of the Lord were turning their backs not only on the promise but also upon the Lord.When what they had thought God said did not come to pass they begin to question God or themselves or both. When there was no sign or evidence that supported what they thought they heard, then they began letting go not only of the promise, of the one who promised as well.There truly is and enemy of our lives that comes to steal, kill and destroy. He comes at every opportunity to rob us of what God has promised. He walks into the garden of God’s making and begins to raise questions about God’s character.First, he will question God’s integrity. Maybe God does not intend to fulfill His promises or sometimes He does and sometimes He doesn’t. Ever present are those people who will encourage you to distrust God’s word or yourself. They are all too willing to justify the unrealized dream of your life. They are the people who will rob you of your destiny all the while claiming to be your friend.Secondly, there will be a season when the enemy of your dreams will cause you to question your own integrity. Maybe I had no right to think God wanted to bless me like that. Or, who am I to think I could hear from God? Finally, full of frustration, you will let go of that promise. And maybe, you will begin to search for other word, dream or desire and maybe not.The Church is littered with unfulfilled promises. Destinies that will never be realized due to lost hopes and dashed dreams.Many good people have let go of the promises that God made. Why? Because we do not understand the way that God brings His promises to pass.God is a God of principals and patterns. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” If we are to ever walk in all that God has for us we must change our ways and begin to understand the ways of God.God never changes and the ways and means by which He brings things to pass in our lives. Dick Reuben, who was instrumental in laying the foundation for the Brownsville Revival is fond of saying, “When the pattern is correct the Glory will fall.”Too many Christians are frustrated and disappointed today because they have not rightly understood the process of seeing the promises of God become a reality in their own lives.“People perish for the lack of knowledge.” The enemy has continued to rob us because due to our lack of understanding God’s method of manifest. So many times we imagine or assume that God is going to work it out this way or that way, when in fact God has an entirely different plan, one we would have never conceived on our own."No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”This book is written for every one who has ever heard God give them a promise, a word, a vision or a dream. And yet it seems that it is never going to come to pass.This book is for those frustrated souls who lie awake at night and wonders what he or she did to miss it. This is for that person who has all kinds of friends telling them that they missed God or sinned or did not have enough faith.If you are living in a hopeless situation and it looks like ‘mission impossible,’ then this book was written with you in mind.I have been right there. Wondering what was wrong with me. It worked for everyone but me. It must be my fault or worse yet those around me have kept me from realizing my destiny.That was horrible, because then I became critical of every one around me. That was destructive to everyone I loved and with whom I shared life.If you have said, “I will never read another book on faith,” then this book is for you. I have been right where you are and I know what it feels like to absolutely wish I had never had that dream, vision or word from God.God never forgets His Promise. Even if it takes over 400 years, He will remember His promise to Abraham.“God heard their cries and remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the Israelites and felt deep concern for their welfare.” You may feel like God has forgotten you. You may think that He does not remember His promise to you, but God is concerned for you. He is moving in these days to bring to pass that promise that you thought was long dead.He is looking through the wilderness of our lives. He is looking for those who will participate in their own deliverance. God will never fulfill His word without our participation.You must participate in your own life. You really don’t have a choice. No one else can live your life, only you. The very first thing you must understand about God is that he never brings a promise or a word to pass without the involvement of his people.Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." Each of us is called to take a second look. Moses paused and was amazed. We must turn away from the things of this world and look at the things of God.That bush just keeps on burning, it never goes out. Other bushes catch on fire but they extinguish themselves after a while due to the lack of fuel. But this one keeps on burning; in fact the bush is not the source of the flame.Your frustration is proof that the fire just keeps burning. You can’t seem to forget that dream, that word, or that promise. You have forgotten countless others, but this one still keeps you awake at night.You thought you had put it out of your mind but it keeps creeping back into your thoughts as you drive down the road or as you mow the yard. And as it comes crawling back into your consciousness you become frustrated.But you “turn aside again, to see it.”You are hooked! God is about to call you name. He is going to tell you that you are standing on sacred ground.You are standing at the right place. You are right where turn-arounds take place. You have been hiding out here in the wilderness of your life. You have been wandering around out here in unrealized potential. You dream about what should’a, could’a, or might’a have been. You thought you blew it, but God has been working behind the scenes.This is your day. This is your time. There is hope for you. Keep reading.