January 6

Make God’s promises yours


“Who through faith . . . obtained promises” (Heb. 11:33).
“More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psa. 19:10).

When I am asked for my favorite promises, I smile. It is not one text more than another, but a whole Bible blesses me, assures me, warns and corrects and comforts me. A hundred promises whisper to me. I never know when one of the promises—perhaps one that I have not met for days or even months—may suddenly stand before me, beckon me, speak to me tenderly, comfortingly, authoritatively, austerely; speak to me as though God were speaking to me face to face.
The ancient heroes of the Cross obtained promises by faith. You can buy a Bible for a few pence. And the Bible teems with promises. They are on almost every page. But you will not see them, your mind will not grasp them, your heart will receive no strength and consolation from them—if you have not faith. The man who goes through the Bible without faith is like the Boers and natives who walked over the diamond fields of Africa all unconscious of the immeasurable wealth beneath their feet.

When I reply that it is the whole Bible which blesses me, I do not mean that there is no one promise that looms large to me, but rather that there are so many which bless me and meet my daily needs that I am like a man with a home full of sweet children, every one of whom is so dear to him that he cannot tell which he loves most and which is most needful for his happiness.
My spiritual needs are manifold, and there seems to be a promise just suited to my every need, that matches my need as a Yale key matches a Yale lock, as a glove fits a hand, as light answers to my eye and music to my ear, as the flavor of delicious food matches my sense of taste, and as the attar of roses answers my sense of smell; as the love of one’s beloved and the faithfulness of one’s friend answer the hunger of the heart.—Samuel Logan Brengle.

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