Promise

Recent changes in the lives of people significant to me - relocation, changes in work, home, etc. - have made me think. Some are experiencing change simply because change happens. Some are going through change in pursuit of the promises of this world. You know: work hard and you'll succeed; study well and you'll be secure; be loving and you'll enjoy the comfort of a great family; set aside a little bit now and you'll have enough to live on when you're old. But the fact of the matter is that we often find these promises broken. Work hard, and you might succeed. You could also get stuck in a dead-end job, be replaced by someone less costly to the company, be sidelined by life-threatening illness, or lose your life at a cross-walk. Be loving and enjoy family – unless, of course, your spouse wants out, or your kids decide to contradict with their lives every piece of good advice you’ve ever given and break your heart over and over. And what if the place where you live is racked with war and terrorism? Even when the promises seem somewhat fulfilled, they don’t last. Just look the local newsstand plastered with magazines blaring the sorry side of those with the great jobs, lovely families, money, fame, and fortune.

God’s promises, by contrast, are meaningfully enduring. He made a covenant promise to his people, and he has been true to his word. He promises “rest” (our well-being) today and also an eternal rest we can look forward to. Jesus promises that he goes away to prepare a place for us so that we can be with him there forever. He promises to build a church, strong and vibrant, over which even the gates (powers) of Hades will not prevail. Jesus promises to give us his Spirit, and we now bear his seal. He promises to be with us to the end of the age. He promises he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. He promises us resurrection. He promises to finish the good work he started in us. These and more are his “very great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4).

I guess that part of the necessity of God’s promises is because we are creatures of hope. Our hope rests on promises. These promises really work because they are from the One who has the authority and sovereignty to promise. This gives us a future and certainty despite change. We need to get to know these promises, and the One who made them because we can trust him.