God has given us many wonderful promises that he will break every bond of sin, empower us to defeat all dominion of sin, give us a new heart, cleanse and sanctify us, and ultimately conform us to the very image of Christ. His Word assures us, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18, NKJV).
God does all of these things for us only in his time, according to his divine schedule. He has no deadlines pushing him. He ignores all demands for an instant cure-all. In short, true faith on our part demands that we patiently wait on our Lord. Our response to him should be “Lord, I believe you’re true to your Word. By the power of your Spirit within me, I’m going to wait patiently until you bring these things to pass in my life. My part is to remain in faith, waiting on you.”
You may endure awful trials and temptations. You may hear horrendous lies whispered to you by Satan. At times, you may fail. In fact, you may wonder if you’ll ever reach the goal. As you’re enduring all these afflictions, you must simply hold onto faith with patience and trust that God is at work. If you believe that he is keeping his Word and being your Jehovah Tsidkenu, he will look on you as a faithful child. He has sworn by oath, “By faith, you will receive the promise.”
The Bible could not make this any clearer. “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Simply put, unbelief is doubting God will do what he promises. We must believe the promises of God, being fully persuaded he’ll keep his word. “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever” (Jude 1:24-25).