Promise, Problem, Provision

This is a very personal confession of a pastor who has survived and prospered in the ministry for more than 50 years. What I am sharing is the result of the life lessons I have learned in those years. No one wants to hear from a prophet who has no scars.
I have endured many problems in my life. Some have been self-imposed, while other problems have been spiritual or physical attacks from the depths of hell. No matter what the source, God has used these problems to help build character, endurance and understanding. I have sometimes received God’s supernatural promises swiftly, and other promises have taken me months or years to receive because of how I have conducted myself while in the problem.
I believe there is an all-knowing and all-powerful God who created the heavens and the earth and controls the affairs of men. I believe that every person has a divine destiny, one known only to God since before the world was created ... before we breathed our first breath. That divine destiny or purpose is our only path to love, joy and peace.
I also believe there is a divine principle found in sacred Scripture called “promise, problem and provision.” Simply stated, God begins leading us to our divine destiny by giving us a scriptural promise. This is followed by a problem or series of problems meant to bring us to the level of spiritual maturity whereby we can receive His miracle provision. If we reject His provision, we will miss our divine destiny, and we will live our life without meaning or purpose.
A classic biblical illustration that helps us understand the absolute truth of promise, problem and provision is found in the example of the children of Israel. God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that He would give to them and their descendants a nation whose boundaries are forever specified in Scripture. This Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey, would be God’s miracle provision.
The Jewish people became a nation in Egypt. God sent Moses as their deliverer and brought about the first Passover, which led them to their exodus out of Pharaoh’s bondage. Then came the problems—at the Red Sea, with the idol crafted by Aaron at Mount Sinai, and at the tent of meeting where 250 Israelites who rebelled against Moses were buried alive by God in an earthquake.
The children of Israel were stuck in the wilderness—their problem—for 40 years, when it could have taken only 40 days to arrive at their promise. It is while in the problem that God exposes the inner weaknesses preventing His children from reaching their destiny. Eventually God allowed them to reach their Promised Land, His provision and their divine destiny.
Life brings its share of problems, but every problem has a promise that will lead you to God’s supernatural provision—your promised land.
The “promised land” is your land, one flowing with milk and honey, a land of unspeakable abundance. It is a land filled with the favor of God, a land of love, joy and everlasting peace.
Problems not only happen to bad people; bad problems also happen to good people. Adversity is God’s university! God has given to us more than 3,000 promises in His Word. Every promise is custom designed in heaven to help us journey through the problems of life and receive the supernatural provision available for each problem we encounter.
It is imperative for God’s children to discover the principle for transforming the problems of our lives into the provisions of God. Promise, problem and provision is a supernatural principle based on the Word of God that will give you wells you did not dig, houses you did not build and vineyards you didn’t plant. It will turn your darkest night to golden day. It will fill your desert into streams of living water.

Adapted from Life’s Challenges, Your Opportunities by John Hagee, copyright 2009, published by Charisma House.