Promise Over Problem

Do you remember how we learned fractions in school? One number over another number means a particular portion of the whole. And, if you have 5/3rds for instance, it actually converts to 1 and 2/3rds or more than a whole. That’s the way I want to look at the concept of God’s promises vs. our problems. If we put the promise over the problem, we will come out with more than whole!

Do you have barren areas in your life? Do your problems look impossible? Do your dreams seem dead and your relationship is not changing. For every problem God has a promise. And the promise is greater than the problem.

Romans 4:19 gives a faith perspective from Abraham in the midst of his problem of not being able to bear children and being 100 years old; “And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.” Are you fully convinced God is able to do what He said He would do? Abraham put the promise over the problem. He believed that if God said it, He was good for it and would do it.

The issue is focus. Whatever we focus on is magnified. If we focus on the problem, it gets bigger. But if we magnify the Lord, we make Him bigger than the problem. We need to change our perception. If I hold a quarter up to my eye, it will block out the sun. But is the quarter bigger than the sun? Don’t magnify what’s wrong. Magnify what’s right. Focus on the promise. Put the promise over the problem.

It takes just as much energy to believe as it does to worry. God is bigger than anything you are facing. Change your focus to the promise. Worry will leave and faith will increase. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

God is not obligated to bring to pass what we say, but He is obligated to bring to pass what He says. If I can find the promise, I can use the equation. He always causes me to triumph. When He hears His word coming out of your mouth, He gets busy bringing it to pass. 

When God gave Abraham the promise of a baby, Abraham did not focus on his age and the circumstances of his body, but he believed God. He was fully persuaded. Whose report will you believe - the report of man or the report of the Lord? God never runs out of options. Expectation is the fertile ground for miracles and I believe God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

The real problem is that we don’t know the promises of God. We need to know God’s word and we need to seek out what God is saying about our situation. Knowing that God is fighting our battles and that nothing can stand against our God is where our focus needs to be. The traps of the enemy will fail. We have to know the promises. To help you out, you can text Godspromises to 1-689-214-5554. We have put together a collection of promises for you to read, meditate on and declare over your life and circumstances.

There are awesome examples of this way of focusing on the promises in God’s word. In 2 Chronicles 20:6, King Jehoshaphat was outnumbered 10 to 1 by incoming armies. But he led the people to fast and pray and then, they began to declare the goodness and greatness of God. An amazing victory ensued. In another story, the people of Israel opted to focus on the negative and ended up in the wilderness for 40 years. Moses sent spies into the promised land in Number 13. Out of twelve spies, ten of the spies came back with the report that they seemed like grasshoppers compared to the men of the land. They reported Israel would not be able to take Canaan, a land promised to them by God. All twelve spies had faith. It was just that 2 spies had faith in God and 10 had faith in the giants of the land. Joshua and Caleb, the two who had faith in God, did not ignore the giants but they knew and professed God was bigger. Note that we do not know the names of the 10 spies that gave the negative report and had faith in the giants. Also note, Joshua and Caleb were both active 40 years later in the taking of the promised land.

Is your wrong perspective keeping you from the promised land? You will never live in Canaan until you stop seeing yourself in Egypt. I love the account of David fighting Goliath. Look what David says as he faces the giant, Goliath, in I Samuel 17, “I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the LORD will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle, and he will give you to us!” I love this! I call this Godfidence. David believes and declares, “God is handing you over to me. The whole earth will know there is an extraordinary God in Israel.” God will be glorified.

Paul says it this way to the Philippians in Philippians 1, “Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.” God is for you. This is the right perspective. One touch of God’s favor changes the direction and the outcome of what you are facing. Focus on the promise. Overcome the obstacles.

Zerubbabel helped lead the people of Israel back from Babylonian captivity and was commissioned to rebuild the temple. More important than that task was the promise to go with it. “Who are you oh great mountain of human obstacles that would stand in Zerubbabel’s way; you will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’” The declaration was to shout grace and then finish this project.

Speak to your mountain, “This day I will conquer you. As a mountain you cannot grow, but as a human I can.” Consider not the negative circumstances and problems, but consider your God. Know the promises He is declaring over you and come into agreement with those promises, declaring them over yourself. Download the book. Focus on the promises. Then, watch your focus shift and your problems become the grasshoppers while the promises begin to prevail in your life.