God promised to meet all our needs, so why do I still struggle with poverty or illness?

Is every promise for everyone?

Not every promise is for every person. Remember, His promise that “faithless, the detestable… murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur…” (Revelation 21:8) is one I do not want Him to keep in my life even though I have been guilty of some of those actions. However, I trust Him to keep His promise in Romans 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

How do I know which promises are for me?

There are promises that are made to individuals, or nations. There are promises that are made to all humans but with conditions. There are promises made to everyone that are based on God’s character. The context of the promise will tell us which is which. For example, God’s promise to Abraham that He would give him a son in his old age was not a promise made to every old person. However, this promise to Abraham does tell us something about God’s character as we “watch” Him keep that promise – He loves people and cares about their needs.

In the Old Testament, we see many promises made - to individuals or to families or to the nation of Israel. The great majority of these promises were about the coming of Jesus. Promises as prophecy and promises of judgment or blessing were given to move God’s plan of salvation forward to reality. This salvation was for all of us too as we read in Genesis 22:18. Now that His plan of salvation is complete through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, His promises are about getting us to eternity with Him. He wants us to live as co-rulers with Him in eternity, so He gives us the opportunity here to store treasure in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). He wants us to know how to reign wisely when we get there (2 Timothy 2:12). So in His grace, He allows us to use our life here on earth to make eternity greater.

When Does He Keep His Promises?

As you read in the verse from 2 Timothy, God asks us to partner with Him in His plan to build us up for our eternal life with Him. Therefore, many of His promises are conditional. We have a responsibility to which we must be faithful. We must trust (Psalm 37:3-7), we must confess (1 John 1:9), we must believe (John 1:12) and we must love (John 13:34-35).

If He keeps His promises, why do I need to ask?

Then why must we ask Him before He provides the things we need (Matthew 7:7)? Does He not know our needs before we do? Yes, He does! He knows us well and knows that if we receive things from Him without asking and learning to trust, we are also not grateful to Him for what He provides Our relationship with Him is more important than things. Jesus wants us to trust Him. He wants us to place our full faith in Him. As we read His promise and then ask Him for what He has promised, we learn to seek our Giver more than the gift itself.