The God of Fulfilled Promises
“The word of the LORD is tried”


By Jon W. Quinn

 

It was my fourth birthday. Dad promised to take me fishing. There was never any doubt about it. I would go fishing on my 4th birthday. I anticipated it a lot. It sometimes seemed as if my birthday would never come. Well, it did come, we got up early and dad took me fishing. I caught 4 fish that day (a very special day… 4 years old… 4 fish… and little did I know that was the absolute best results at fishing I would ever achieve in my whole life). There were other promises; a promise to take me to my first ball game to see the "Redlegs" play at the old Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Dad still insisted on calling the team the "Redlegs" in the early 1960's in spite of the fact that since the mid to late 1950's they had been known as the “Reds”. Perhaps dad was suspicious the name change to “Reds” might be a Communist plot.

I trusted my dad. Even when it seemed it took a very long time for a promise to be fulfilled, I knew it would be fulfilled. I would consider past promises kept and the importance dad placed on keeping one's word and my hope would live on as I waited.

God is trustworthy, always and forever. Paul put it this way: “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20). God has kept all His promises in the past, even the most difficult ones. Also, I notice the importance He places on fulfilling one's word. And like it was when I was a boy, there is joy in anticipation of the time when the day arrives and God fulfills His promise. It is a happy, confidence-building hope. It is much better than a life of cynicism and doubt, fear and distrust. God is both a "promise maker" as well as a "promise keeper!"

Hope's Testimony
David's strength came through his hope and trust in God (Psalm 18:29-31). If God's promises are true, we simply cannot be defeated if we trust and obey Him. Nothing that we face can bring us down if we always place our trust in Him - not even the very last enemy we will ever face - death itself (Psalm 23; Romans 8:37-39).

Joshua had gone through some times when only a very few had continued to trust God's promises. Once, he and Caleb were almost put to death by doubters… sometimes doubters and skeptics, unhappy and hopeless, can get pretty mean! (Numbers 14:8-10).

It is this same Joshua, who years later after the doubters had fallen in the wilderness, who had led the new generation into the land of promise and subdued it, would have this to say: “"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15).

We, too, believe the promises of God, and this gives us hope as it did with David and Joshua. The promise - “the blessed hope and appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” for which we hope is coming (Titus 2:13; see also 1 Peter 1:3-5). So now, we live each day with Jesus in our lives and trusting in the promise - that is why we seek to observe His commandments and determine to keep on and never give up; it is a part of our trust motivated by our hope. And, He is always with us (Matthew 28:18-20).

Hope and Confidence
God had promised that through Abraham a great nation would come, and that out of that nation the Messiah would come to bless all the nations of the earth (Genesis 12:2-3; 22:18). The day of the fulfillment did come, as these faithful men and women had always known it would (Hebrews 11:13; 39). God always keeps His promises!

True trust and hope changes lives. It changes the way people think and act. Hope gives confidence, courage and strength. To go on. These men and women made some tough choices that they would not have made if their trust and hope had been negligible. Trust and hope does the same thing for us today! (Romans 5:3-5).

Hope is not just a pipedream or wishful thinking. It is confident expectation and anticipation. I believe not only that God's promise to send a Savior has been kept, but I believe that Jesus is that Messiah (Romans 1:4). I also believe that the future is bright, though I am aware that I need increased perception and appreciation for what it is that God has promised me (Ephesians 1:18-20). That would be a good thing for which to pray!

Abiding Hope
We do not know what our life's journey will entail. Whatever ensues, we must not lose hope. Peter lost hope and denied knowing the Lord three times. It is hard to be strong, active and courageous without hope. Our hope in God can be our rock and anchor, bit not if we lose sight of it. Thank God Peter found his hope again. He found it in the resurrected Christ, the Son of the Living God!

Hope is the anchor of our faith in life's difficulties (Hebrews 6:19). It is sure and steadfast. Jesus has already gone before us, so we know where we will end our journey once we join Him "beyond the veil" (The spiritual Most Holy Place - heaven). Hope allows us to put everything in its proper perspective. Hope motivates us to do what is right even when the choice is difficult. Hope provides something better to live for and anticipate.

As long as God, the Promise Maker lives, my hope lives. That's good, because God is "from everlasting to everlasting" (Revelation 1:8; 17-18). God is able to keep His promise, all things are possible with Him, so it does not matter how far beyond our concepts of what is possible His promises may be (Romans 4:18-20). God is faithful - He can be counted on (Hebrews 13:5).

"And hope does not disappoint" (Romans 5:5). Hope brings greater trust, faith, patience, joy and confidence. It is the basis of our developing righteous characters. Put your faith in God and His promises through His Son Jesus Christ, and by that faith your hope will grow, and with it, your joy and anticipation.
 

From The Bradley Banner 2/16/2011
Published by the Bradley Church of Christ
1505 E. Broadway