“Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.”-{Joshua 23:14}
The Bible records two kinds of promises from the Lord—unconditional and conditional.
An unconditional pledge is one whose fulfillment rests solely with God; His commitment is independent of people and situations. An example would be His covenant never to send another flood to destroy the entire earth (Gen. 9:11). No matter how the world behaves, He will not take this action again. Salvation is of God,-“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”-{John 6:37}; “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.”-{Eph 1:4}; “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”-{Eph 2:8-9 nlt}; “For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (Isaiah 14:27). -“I know [Lord] that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2);~”The Lord foils the plans of the nations [the wicked]; He thwarts the purposes of the [wicked] peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” (Ps. 33:10,11); ~”O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in Heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You.” (2 Chron. 20:6); ”Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Prov. 19:21); ~”The Lord works out everything for His own ends –even the wicked for a day of disaster.” (Prov. 16:4); ”There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” (Prov. 21:30); ”The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his.” (Prov. 14:14)
The second type of divine promise is conditional. In other words, the Lord is willing to act under certain circumstances. It’s often written as an “if-then” statement and involves our cooperation. Let’s look at three conditional promises involving salvation, forgiveness, and wisdom.
• Romans 10:9 tells us that salvation is promised to those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord. We are saved when we genuinely trust in the Savior.
• If we come to the Lord with sincere confession of sin, we have the assurance of divine forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). The Lord’s fulfillment of this vow depends upon our obedient action.
• James 1:5-6 instructs us to ask God for wisdom without doubting that we will receive it. If we approach the Lord with faith, then He will give us understanding.
God will do exactly what He’s promised. But He requires our obedient cooperation before fulfilling His conditional pledges. To receive the blessing, we must satisfy the conditions He has set. If you are waiting for the Lord to fulfill His promise, check to be sure you are carrying out your part.