In the message “Calling God A Liar”, sent before the Christmas messages, we saw how the way we live directly reflects our true belief. If we do not follow His commands and trust His promises, we do not believe His Word and have effectively called God a liar. But as we draw near and give ourselves more fully into His hands, we learn that His promises are not only true, they are better than we imagined.
When Abraham was over eighty years old, God taught him a lesson on trusting His promises. Abraham became frustrated with God because there was no one to inherit his possessions: “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir” (Genesis 15:3). But God had other plans and made a promise to Abraham.
Genesis 15:4-5
“‘This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.'”
Abraham waited many years for God’s promise to be fulfilled. Finally, when he was one hundred years old, Isaac was born; and through Isaac came Jacob, and through Jacob came the sons who formed the twelve tribes of Israel. Abraham was looking for someone to inherit his “stuff,” but God’s promise gave him an entire nation.
God gives many promises to us today, but they all flow from the promise first stated by Jesus; “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). We must not pass lightly over these words, for none of the other promises even apply until we have believed this basic truth.
We cannot move on to the promises of peace and contentment until we trust in the promise of forgiveness through faith in Jesus. When we begin to understand the significance of the gift of eternal life, we will know that nothing the world can offer will EVER compare to the promises of God…and NOTHING else will last. His promise is the only path to true peace. If we could better understand and really believe, perhaps we would spend less time and effort on pursuits which contain no lasting value – perhaps we would have less anxiety about all those things which only God can control.
Jesus shed His blood so we can truly live. His promise is greater than any worldly pleasure and outweighs ALL worldly trials; “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). As we walk through this world, with all its pulls, temptations, and near constant turmoil, let’s hold tight to His promise and always remember…NOTHING can compare!
Have a Christ Centered Day!
Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries
