Preceding meditations have established the Bible as the book from where purposes, patterns, and perceptions are derived. In addition, the Bible is also a book of promises. Apostle Peter said that we have been given “exceedingly great and precious promises”. The promises of God cover all aspects of life. They hold for the present life as well as the hereafter. The promises of God can be broadly divided into general and specific, conditional and unconditional. General promises can be claimed by everyone who believes. Specific promises, on the other hand, may not be easily adaptable. For example, God promised Jacob that he should not be afraid to go to Egypt, He would sustain him and bring him back to the land of promise. That was a specific promise and cannot be interpreted as God wanting all who believe to go to Egypt. Be that as it may, there are times when the Holy Spirit can breathe upon specific promises and give them special application to our individual needs.

God is eternally committed to His promises…the overall objective of these promises is to increase our share in His divine nature.

When promises are unconditional, recipients are not required to do anything other than wait for the fullness of time. It is the conditional promises that hang on our obeying the terms before they come into manifestation. All these types of promises are covered in the Bible. Two things are to be kept in mind. Firstly, God is eternally committed to His promises. There is no vacillating once He speaks. Secondly, the overall objective of these promises is to increase our share in His divine nature.