Remember as kids how we'd ask each other what we'd do if we had three wishes? For a moment we pretended there were no limits - that we could have anything. Our imaginations lit up.
One said, "I'd wish for an airplane."
"I'd want an army of my own," said another.
Then some smarty pants sage would settle it all by saying, "For my last wish, I want never-ending wishes."

A Promise differs from a wish. A wish expresses a desire, a delighting in a pretense of getting something you're pretty sure you won't. Like building a castle in the air. A promise originates from the life that spawned it. It's an invitation, by declaration, to all that it describes. A declaration reveals what is, beckons us in and implies full intention to give what's promised. Like actually owning a real castle and swearing to give it to someone.

In God's case there exists first a substance or reality. Then, a strong desire to give it away. Next, He makes a promise that reveals what exists, and invites us in. Implicit in promise is the intention to give it to the hearer. Without declaring a promise, we couldn't know what existed. In that case it would be no more than a wish that God might do, or give you something you would like. You're not sure if it exists, if He has it, or even if He wants to give it to you.

Most people treat God's promises like wishes. They read Jesus' promise, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst," and say inside, 'that would be nice,' and continue on their thirsty way. But when God promises something to you it's certain both that it exists and that it's yours to have if you want it.

A promise is not apparent to the senses. To make it appear you've gotta do something. We must act as though we literally hold it in our hands and feel its texture and its weight. Once believed, we live inside the reality that was spoken. Logic and reason may be involved, but apprehending a promise is essentially a matter of trust.

Learn this well, Jesus taught, unless you receive the revelation of the kingdom-realm the same way a little child receives it, you will never be able to enter in!

When anyone receives God's promise of salvation in Jesus Christ by faith, that earthling is fused with the eternal unseen Spirit. A new creation occurs. He or she looks like a regular human, but is actually inhabited by the divine nature. How does this newborn grow to maturity and attain his full potential? Not by force, extreme effort or ingenuity. One must simply follow a brilliant process tailored to his new nature.

This process is not magic, but it is miraculous. It's explained in 2nd Peter 1:2-5, let me paraphrase:

1. God's divine power gives us everything pertaining to life and godliness through Jesus. God has the stuff.
2. Now that we're new creatures with a new nature, He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises. God makes promises.
3. So that by these promises you may become partakers of the divine nature. God's sons and daughters believe and grasp the promises, taking on the veritable character and substance of the everlasting King and His Kingdom.

How does that work? A promise first challenges, then rewards our faith. The core of every important thing depends on faith. Natural men who scorn faith and squint from the brilliance of their own reason scarcely notice the extent to which they rely on things they can neither control or see. A promise is the best card in our hand. It is the fuel of imagination, hope, achievement, destiny. It is the foundation of peace, and stability. It's the supreme coin of earth and of the unseen realm. No rational world can exist absent the currency of promise.

Every deceiver exploits our natural readiness to eagerly believe and reach for a promise. Charlatans, governments, and even parents and lovers can twist the purity and perfection of promise, fraying the power that makes all things possible. Promises never heard lay dormant. Promises not believed are never apprehended. Promises broken rend hearts and press souls to cynicism and despair.

This blog space touches a range of topics: Faith, Life Bits, Poetry, Identity, Blessings, Praise and Random Thoughts of a General Nature (RTGN) all spawned from my privilege of living and learning from the Word of God, Himself, who promised, "I am the Light of the World, he who believes in me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

I know the Best Promise Ever, I think. But lest I present as a smarty pants sage, I'm gonna hold off awhile. Plus, if I tell you now, you might not come back. Admittedly, every time I consider the Best Promise Ever, my list grows. I'll be sharing some big ones as we go. Please freely send me your best promise, and why you think it's so.

Bob Weidman