When someone says, “I will. . .”  you often trust that they will do as they said.

What does the word “will” mean? There are several different ways that the word “will” can be used in the English language. For this article I will use the word will as a modal (helping) verb.  People often use the word “will” in this sense in order to make promises or threats about what is going to happen in the future. It is used to indicate a person’s intention to do something.

When you are in a helpful mood, you say, “I will help you.” When you are angry, you may say, “I will kill you.”

Have you ever had someone say to you, “I will. . . . ?” For example: “I will come visit you tomorrow,“ “I will buy that for you,”  “I will help you clean your house,” etc. and then not follow through?  I am sure most of us have experienced this. Sometimes people offer an excuse; but, sometimes nothing is said and the incident is ignored.

Have you yourself ever said, “I will. . . .”  and not followed through?  It is not very good on your character to be saying, “I will. . . .” many times and not follow through. If you do not follow through enough, people stop believing in you.  Next time, you will have to say “I promise I will this time” for them to believe you, and still sometimes people break promises. When you say, “I will . . .” people expect you to follow through with what you stated that you will do.

Have you ever said “I will . . . ” to God, and not followed through?

“I will be baptized at the next conference,” but you change your mind at the last minute.

“I will go into full-time missionary work,”  but then you get a job with a good paying salary.

You are asked to preach a sermon, or give a Bible study. You say, “I will,” but then you get nervous or get too busy during the week and do not follow through.

The most well-known place in the Bible that we know of where some people said, “I will . . .” but did not follow through was with Ancient Israel in the wilderness. After receiving the laws and commandments, they said, “All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” Exodus 19:8. And what happened days later? Moses was in the mountain with God, and they were dancing around the golden calf.  Clearly, they did not keep their word.

Have you ever been at a conference and heard a touching sermon, and felt compelled to say, “I will . . .” the way the Israelites did? “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” Those who have heard Brother Joel Barnedo, the General Conference Canvassing leader,  give a motivational sermon about missionary work, often feel convicted and compelled to be more active in volunteer missionary work. We have thoughts of, “I will . . . “ But then we get busy with the cares of this life, or we feel timid and afraid, and we do not follow through.

How good is your word? We have a saying in English that “He is a man of his word” (or woman). Meaning, what he says, he will follow through with. You can count on him. He is a man who can be expected to follow through with his promises or intentions; a truthful, trustworthy, or reliable person.

Are you this type of person? Or do you often say, “I will . . .” and not follow through with your word?

Jesus said, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified,

and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:37. We often quote this verse for its obvious meaning. If we speak pleasant words we are justified, or if we speak evil words we are condemned. Our words are a reflection of our character.  “For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” Luke 6:45. However, I would also like to apply this verse to the meaning of “our word.” How good is our word? Do we follow through with what we say “we will do”? Or are we constantly changing our minds, so that people cannot trust us any longer? Can we be lost by not being true to our word? Can Jesus trust us? Have we made promises to Him, and not followed through? We may not have outright lied, but perhaps we got busy, or we got scared and did not follow through with our word.  Our words can condemn us if we are not true to our word; the truth is, then we are liars. Be careful when you say, “I will. . .” Think before you speak.

Jesus told a parable of a man with two sons. He told them to go work in his field. The first one flat out said no (although he repented later and went). The second son, “answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.”  Matthew 21:30. He clearly was not a man of his word.

But, we serve a God who is always true to His word. You can read hundreds of Bible verses where God says, “I will”.  If He says, “I will” you can guarantee 100 % that He will. We serve a “God, that cannot lie.” Titus 1:2. This gives us hope.

We will now read a few of the precious verses in the Bible where the Lord promised, “I will . . .”

“And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19

The sinner struggling to overcome sin often can get overwhelmed when they see the sinfulness of their condition, but if read the promises of God, He said He will take out the stony heart and will give them a heart of flesh. Oh, that all would claim this promise and pray, daily, that God would make this a reality in their lives. How much more peace and happiness would exist, in the family, the church and the world.

“Be not discouraged because your heart seems hard. Every obstacle, every internal foe, only increases your need of Christ. He came to take away the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh. Look to Him for special grace to overcome your peculiar faults.” –Messages to Young People, p.  112

“In like manner you are a sinner. You cannot atone for your past sins; you cannot change your heart and make yourself holy. But God promises to do all this for you through Christ. You believe that promise. You confess your sins and give yourself to God. You will to serve Him. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfill His word to you.” –Steps to Christ, p. 51

“He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19

When Jesus spoke of His upcoming death, He made sure to give His disciples hope also.  He did tell them He would be leaving them, but He left them with a sure promise. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:3

“Praise the Lord, oh, my soul! He says He has gone to prepare mansions for me:  . . .     Thank God! It is these mansions that I am looking to. It is not the earthly mansions here, for they are to be shaken down by the mighty earthquake erelong; but it is those heavenly mansions that Christ has gone to prepare for the faithful. We have no home here. We are only pilgrims and strangers here, passing to a better country, even an  heavenly. . . . May God help us to win the boon of eternal life.” – In Heavenly Places, p. 354

The Lord said, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15

This is a beautiful promise that God made to Adam and Eve after they fell into sin. This promise gives us hope also.  God said He will put enmity between the woman and Satan.  Do we also put enmity between good and evil in our lives? We must. Many professed Christians will not put on this enmity. They like to retain sin, and believe they will be in heaven. They try to follow Jesus without letting go of the world. There must be an enmity—a division and separation between the true Christian and the world. “The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to Christ without detaching themselves from these cherished idols.” –The Faith I Live By, p. 221. They will not be saved unless they let go of the world.

In reality, the requests from the Lord are not difficult. He says:  “Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you.” Jeremiah 29:12. “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

All the Lord is asking here is to pray and call on Him. Then He says He will hearken unto us and He will do great things for us. That is not challenging. Just get on your knees and call to Him. The King of the Universe has time to listen to you. Do you have time to call on Him? “What a source to which we can look in all times of trouble . . . . The Lord is kind and patient and of tender compassion. He has heaven and earth at His command, and He knows just what we need even before we present our necessities and desires before Him.” –My Life Today, p. 10. Make a promise to the Lord, “I will pray more often.” And keep your promise.

“If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it.”  John 14:14. How simple. Ask in the name of the Lord (according to His will), and He says He will do it.

“Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” Isaiah 55:3. Again, this does not sound too challenging. Incline your ear—in other words, listen to Me. Come to Me . . . And you will live. He will make an everlasting covenant with you.

“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30

Here Jesus is simply saying, “Come..” There is a section in the book, Faith and Works, on page 64, entitled, “The Simplicity of Being Saved.”  It begins with. “He who will lay hold of Christ’s righteousness need not wait one moment that he himself may blot out his own sins. He need not wait until he has made a suitable repentance before he may take hold upon Christ’s righteousness. We do not understand the matter of salvation. It is just as simple as ABC. But we don’t understand.” May God help us to understand.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20. Just open the door when Jesus knocks, and He will enter.

“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24. “Our God is a very present help in time of need. He is acquainted with the most secret thoughts of our hearts, with all the intents and purposes of our souls. When we are in perplexity, even before we open to Him our distresses, He is making arrangements for our deliverance.” –The Upward Look, p. 46. This is a wonderful promise. God is just waiting for you to ask. He has all your problems figured out before you pray. Just call on Him. He is not too busy to answer you.

Do you want financial stability? The Lord promises: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi 3:10. His promises are endless. They cover every facet of our lives.

Sometimes, God says, “if you. . .”  and then counters with, “then I will.“ Is that fair? Is not salvation and God’s love unconditional?  We read, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. “A man is not justified by the works of the law.” Galatians 2:16. Then why does it seem that in some places there are conditions?

“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.” Deuteronomy 28:1

Was this an unreasonable request on the part of God? If they obey, they will be blessed.  No, it was not. While it requires the help from the Lord to be able to obey, we need to have a willing heart. We must want to leave off the things of the world. Then the Lord can do mighty works in and through us. A divided heart is a weak heart; it is a heart that is on the side of the enemy.  The Lord will strengthen those who desire to serve Him. All we need to do is open our heart and say “yes” to the Lord, “I will follow you and I am willing to obey. Help me.”

“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” Exodus 15:26

Again, what is God asking before He promises to bless the Israelites? He gave them dietary and hygiene laws which, if kept, would keep them healthy. Even the keeping of the Ten Commandments promotes health and happiness. Thus, He promised to keep them from illness. If they did their part, He would do His. “The work of gaining salvation is one of copartnership, a joint operation. There is to be co-operation between God and the repentant sinner. This is necessary for the formation of right principles in the character. Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. Human effort of itself is not sufficient. Without the aid of divine power it avails nothing. God works and man works. Resistance of temptation must come from man, who must draw his power from God. On the one side there is infinite wisdom, compassion, and power; on the other, weakness, sinfulness, absolute helplessness.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 482

You can read many, many verses where God makes promises based upon man’s obedience. Here are a few more. “But if thou shalt indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.” Exodus 23:22. “And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.” 1 Kings 3:14. “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7

We must be careful, though, because Satan also makes promises. “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;  And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8–9. We cannot trust his promises. He promises the world (wealth and fame), but he does not promise peace, happiness and everlasting life. Make sure to recognize and reject any promises Satan comes to you with.

Although we read many beautiful promises in the word of God, there is also the other side. He states in many places that He will punish the wicked. But He is patient and first tries to discipline His children. “Despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction:  For whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Proverbs 3:11–12. The Lord bears long with the creatures He lovingly created. He loves everyone as His cherished children. But, when they rebel and turn away from Him they reap the results of their decision.

In the time of Noah we read, “And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth.” Genesis 6:7. He gave them 120 years to repent. For 120 years they heard Noah preach, and watched him build the ark. But they would not enter. They made their own choice to separate from God and His people and they paid for it with their lives—temporal and eternal.

In the time of Jeremiah, the people had very much departed from the Lord. He still loved them and first He sent them reproofs, and when those went unheeded, He took stronger measures and sent them into a foreign land to reflect upon their actions. “But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 12:17. “And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” Hosea 1:5. Yet, in their exile, the Lord was still with them and He brought them back to their homeland 70 years later.

The heathen were not exempted from the threatenings from the Lord. They all had opportunity to hear the word of the Lord and repent, and when they had gone beyond the limit of God’s mercy, they had to face the displeasure of the Lord. “And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.” Micah 5:15

“I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled My land, they have filled Mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.” Jeremiah 16:18. After the Lord has borne long with His people, and they refused to repent,  He finally gave up. It is a fearful thought to know that the Lord will not hear. “And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” 1 Samuel 28:6. “Then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me.”  Proverbs 1:28. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm  66:18. How fearful to think that the Lord will not answer us. But do not worry. Do you feel guilty when you sin? Then the Holy Spirit is working in your life, convicting you of your wrongdoing. It is when you reach a condition that you can do sin and wrong and not feel any guilt, that you are in danger.

The Lord also takes Sabbath observance very seriously. How easily we sometimes start to speak of things out of harmony with the Sabbath. “But if ye will not hearken unto Me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah  17:27

To the church in Laodicea the Lord says, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:16. This is the time period in which we are living. There are many professed Christians in the Protestant world and even in God’s church who are lukewarm and believing that they are not bad, and that they will be in heaven. Yet they do not want to keep all the precepts of Jehovah. Only some. We need to each individually search our own hearts to make sure we are fully on the Lord’s side, having left off any practices, thoughts, or desires for the world. “Remember Lot’s Wife.” Luke  17:32. She left Sodom physically, but not in thought and emotion. We must leave all for Jesus. We must serve Him in mind, body, and spirit.

However, even if we repent of our sins, sometimes there may still be consequences for our sins. I am sure Adam and Eve repented with deep sorrow, but the Lord still said to them,  “Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Genesis 3:16. Yet, the Lord will be with us in every sorrow that we face in this life. We have made mistakes, but the Lord is more than willing to forgive us and walk with us, through every trial we may face, even if it is a consequence of our sin.

Now that we have read so many beautiful promises from God, and fearful threatenings, what should we say to God? I hope we can all say, “I will follow Thee wherever You lead.” This way we can benefit from the promises and avoid the threatenings.

In Psalm 119, we read of many times when David said, “I will.”  I will quote several and let us reflect on them and be willing to also say like He did to the Lord, “I will.”

  • “I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments.” (v.7). (We will be singing praises to the Lord at all times.)
  • “I will keep Thy statutes.” (v.8) (We will obey the Lord without question)
  • “I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways.” (v.15) (We will pray without ceasing; mediating on the Lord and His precepts continually)
  • “And I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts.” (v. 45) (We will walk in freedom. Our conscience will be free when we obey the Lord.)
  • “I will speak of Thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.” (v. 46) (We will not fear to share our faith, even before kings)
  • “And I will delight myself in Thy commandments, which I have loved.” (v.47) (It will be a joy for us to keep the commandments)
  • “At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous judgments.” (v.62) (If we have trouble sleeping, we will give thanks to the Lord in the middle of the night)
  • “I will keep Thy precepts with my whole heart.” (v.69)

(We will obey, not just with outward actions, but with the heart)

  • “I will never forget Thy precepts: for with them Thou hast quickened me.” (v.93) (Wherever we are, we will always remember the Lord)
  • “I will consider Thy testimonies.” (v.95) (We will also have respect to the testimonies and Spirit of Prophecy)

Trust in the Lord and you will not be disappointed. Sometimes life is an adventure when we willingly follow the Lord. We do not know what tomorrow holds. Sometimes life can be full of sorrow and trouble, but it is all in the Lord’s plan. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Let us say like the prophet Habakkuk: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17–18.  And why could he say this? He had full confidence in the leading of the Lord. “The LORD God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine High places.” Habakkuk 3:19.  Yes, if we will follow the Lord at all times, one day we will walk upon high places—heavenly places. That is the Lord’s promise.  Let us tell the Lord, “I will . . . ” and be true to our word in return for all the great promises He made to us. Amen

Wendy Eaton

(emphases in Bible verses supplied by author)