Unconditional Promises of God

8 Promises for Believers

When people look for the Promises of God Bible Verses List, they are looking for encouragement.  They want to see all the blessings that God has promised them – what they can look forward to – to help them get through difficult times.

And while this blog post will primarily be about the blessings God has promised those who have faith in him, I wanted to take a moment to be candid about the reality of God and his promises.  People tend to only want to see the ‘rosy’ side of God’s promises and avoid the side of God’s character that seems too harsh.

God’s Promises Can Be Both a Blessing and a Curse

God promises to both rescue and destroy.  God is true to his word – he never goes back on his word – and although he wants to bless and rescue everyone, those who don’t turn from their sin and enter into a covenant with him are not accepted into his adopted family.

Romans 1:31-32 says,

‘They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.  They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.’ (NLT)

While God knows that we won’t live out holiness perfectly in this life, our heart’s attitude needs to be one of repentance and humility before God, rather than stubborn pride.

Romans 3:23 says,

‘For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (NLT)

This verse tells us that those who do not turn from their sin will receive the punishment of death, a spiritual death, which is separation from God.  But God wants to give us his free gift of grace and forgiveness. He sacrificed his own Son so that we could receive it.

God Remains Good, But He is Also Holy & Just

John 3:16 says,

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ (NIV)

It is a solemn thought to consider that some people will never receive God’s gift of salvation, but God is true to his word and his character: God is good, but he is also holy and just.

We are all deserving of God’s judgment (Romans 3:23), yet God has made a way for us to be rescued. We might protest this aspect of God. We might refuse to believe that a God who is love, and a God who is good, can be capable of punishing us. But it is a truth that no amount of denying and refusing can change.

But a very different set of promises exist for believers, those who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

God’s Promises for His Believers

The Bible is packed with amazing promises from God.  Becoming a follower of Jesus is not just about the afterlife – a promise to go to heaven.  There is so much goodness that God offers us in this life! 

Here is a list of 8 of God’s promises to his children:

• his faithfulness

• his strength, help, & guidance

• peace, joy, & love

• wisdom

• his provision

• deliverance

• rest & renewal

• a lasting union

and so much more!

God Promises His Faithfulness

God is faithful, even when we are not.  This is not a human concept.  We would never remain faithful to someone who was repeatedly unfaithful to us.

Isaiah 54:10 says,

‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.’ (NIV)

Psalm 36:5 says,

‘Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies’ (NIV)

The Oxford dictionary defines faithful as, ‘remaining loyal and steadfast’.  God is capable of perfect faithfulness.  No circumstance, even of our own doing, can stop God from being faithful to us and to his promises.

We won’t always be faithful to God.  We will fail. I can’t count how many times I have failed.  But God will not.  He remains faithful to the very end.  He is always waiting for us with arms open wide to receive us back again.

God Promises His Strength, Help and Guidance

God promises to help and guide us through this life.  We can rely on God’s power, wisdom, and knowledge to help us through any circumstance thrown our way – even the messes we get ourselves into.

The fact that God is infinitely powerful, infinitely wise and knows all things, makes us confident that God is able to help us and direct us through life’s mazes.  In fact, only God is able to offer the kind of help we need.

Isaiah 41:10 says,

‘Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.’ (NLT)

One of my favorite verses of all time is Romans 8:28:

‘And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.’

This promise of help does not mean that God won’t allow bad things to happen to us.  It means that God will take all the bad and turn it into good – for our good and for his glory.  What is so amazing about this promise is that God doesn’t only turn bad things that happen to us into good, he also takes our own bad: every mistake, every failure, and every consequence, and turns them into good.

God is a God of second chances – infinite chances in fact!  What a refreshing relief to know that we have not messed up our lives too much for God to fix!

When will this ‘good’ happen?  In God’s timing.  But it WILL happen because God is faithful!

God Promises Peace, Joy, and Love

This is one of God’s promises that we don’t have to wait for.  It is always available, and God offers it in abundance.  This promise doesn’t depend on circumstances; they can be experienced all the time, in all circumstances.  The only catch is that we need to know how to receive them. 

How do we receive God’s peace, joy and love?  Romans 5:5 tells us that,

‘For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.’ (NLT)

The answer is through the Holy Spirit – God’s Spirit.  When we enter into God’s Covenant through his Son, Jesus Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit. God helps and guides us through the work of the Holy Spirit, and he fills us with a supernatural ability to experience peace, joy, and love no matter the circumstances.

Romans 15:13 says,

‘I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.’ (NLT)

Just as many great men and women were able to experience a supernatural peace and joy amidst suffering and dire circumstances, so can we!

God’s Promise of Wisdom

The Bible tells us that God promises to given wisdom to anyone who asks for it.  James 1:5 says,

‘If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.’ (NLT)

This is a specific promise for specific circumstances.  It’s not a blanket request that will make us wise from that point forward.  Rather, when we are faced with difficult decisions and we don’t know what the right choice is, God will give us wisdom in that situation when we ask.

But God also promises to provide us with a way to always make wise and right choices.  Proverbs 3:6 says,

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.’

This verse is often misunderstood to mean that we won’t run into problems if we trust in the Lord. But the intended meaning is that, when we trust and rely on God, he will help us see our way through the problems – he will guide us along the right path.

How does God inform us of the right path and right choices?  Psalm 119:105 has the answer:

‘Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.’

The word of God is the light for our path.  Everything that God wants us to know can be found in the Bible.  Every decision and path can be weighed and measured using the Bible. 

God’s Promise of Provision

Philippians 4: 19 says,

‘And my God will meet your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus’ (NIV)

God promises to provide us with everything we need.  But this doesn’t mean he provides us with everything we want, or even what we perceive as needs, but what we actually need – and that is, what we need in order to fulfill his purpose for our lives. 

You see, God is primarily concerned about our character – that we become more like Christ – and reaching the lost.  Philippians is often misunderstood, or taught incorrectly, and the consequence of this false teaching is that we begin to doubt God when we are not receiving perceived and real earthly needs.

Now God does care about our needs, and he does provide for us, but it is important to remember what his primary concern is – one that has eternal value and significance.

God’s Promise of Deliverance

God delivers us from the temptation to sin.  He rescues us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says,

‘No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.’ (ESV)

God does not tempt us to sin.  Our human nature is drawn to sin instinctively.  But when we are believers, that impulse to sin – the hold sin has on us – has been broken by Jesus’ death.  Though you can still be tempted, God gives you the power to refuse sin.  And he also gives you a way out.  He will not let you endure more than you can handle.

God also delivers us from evil.  We have nothing to fear because, through Jesus, we have overcome.

James 4:7 says,

‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you!’

And 1 John 4:4 says,

‘You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world’.

Satan has no power over us. We have nothing to fear because we belong to God who is greater, and he has already overcome the world.

God’s Promise of Rest & Renewal

We are not promised a trouble-free life – in fact the life of a Christian is pretty much guaranteed to not be an easy one – but we are promised by a great God, that we will find rest and renewal in him.

Matthew 11:28 says,

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’

Isaiah 40:29, 31 says,

‘He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might he increases strength.  Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.’

And Psalm 119:50 says,

‘This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.’

God’s Promise of an Everlasting Union

And here is the best promise of all!  God’s love will not fail.  It will endure all things.  As children of God, we cannot lose God’s love for us.  God made a way to bridge the gap that separated us from being in close union with him, and nothing can ever again separate us!

Romans 8:38-39 says,

‘And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (NLT)

What a great God we serve!

Book Recommendation:

God’s Promises Every Day: 365-Day Devotional by Jack Countryman – This devotional brings encouragement from the Scriptures to draw us closer to what God has affirmed for his believers. This beautifully designed daily devotional offers a unique experience they you will want to use and cherish year after year.