"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then
I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Searching the menu, I finally found what I was looking for - "two eggs, hash browns, toast, two sausage, two bacon, and ham ----- $3.99" with one condition added below "no substitutions please". You could get a good price on a great breakfast, you just couldn't make any changes. No asking for all bacon (crispy of course), or all sausage links and, especially, no trying to get pancakes instead of the hash browns.
As I have been thinking about the promises of God found in the Bible, blessings that He offers us, breakthroughs that He wants to give each of us, the conditions associated with those promises have really stood out to me. Isaiah 1:19, for example. promises that "we will eat the best of the land" -that our lives will be blessed with the best that the Lord has. But it includes a condition, something we have to do if we are to walk in that promise; it will only happen "if we are willing and obedient".
The scripture from II Chronicles 7:14 above promises that the Lord will send revival if His people will do certain things, humbling themselves, praying, seeking the Lord and turning from sin. It is an incredible promise of what the Lord will do if God's people will take the steps He outlines.
But we need to realize that, just like the restaurant offering a breakfast special, these conditions to God's blessings and promises have an unwritten "no substitutions please" attached to them. So often we try to bargain with the Lord. We want all that He has promised us but we are hoping to receive them on our own terms. We cannot substitute good works for praying and seeking God's face. We cannot substitute faithfulness in giving for humbling ourselves and turning from sin. And showing up at church every Sunday will never be a substitute for holy living.
God's promises are all "yes and amen" as Paul wrote in II Corinthians 1:20. Let's all purpose in our hearts to follow the path to blessing, the roadmap to change, and the recipe for a breakthrough outlined in God's Word. But when we are tempted to negotiate with the Lord about what is required of us, remember today's devotion "no substitutions please"!
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
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