His Promise
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle on you. — Isaiah 43:2
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." — John 6:35
Author
Faustino de Jesús Zamora Vargas
Summary: The world lives in anticipation of uncertain promises, but we can rest in God’s faithfulness even on difficult days. His promise runs throughout the Word and is fulfilled in Jesus, the offspring of Abraham through whom blessing comes to those who receive Him by faith. In my first year of faith, loss and hardship led me to cling to that promise, though it took me time to understand it. As we walk with Christ, we see how God sustains us and answers our prayers. We do not receive His promises because of the merit of our obedience, but because of Christ’s merit. Our inheritance includes eternity in His presence and, above all, Him Himself.
The world lives on promises it does not know will be fulfilled. Christians rest in God’s faithfulness. Difficult days and moments may come, but be assured that God will not fail you.
The fullness of life in Christ becomes a reality through His promise, the thread running through the Word from Adam to Jesus. The promise makes us heirs of the Kingdom, many of whose benefits we already enjoy. God’s promise to Abraham was a blessing for all the nations of the earth through his offspring. Christ is that offspring, who came into this world to bless all who receive Him through faith. To live with our eyes fixed on the promise is not to conjure fantasies out of thin air, but to live trusting that God’s plan for our lives has meaning, is unchanging, and cannot be altered by anything or anyone. In Jesus, all the covenants God made with His people are fulfilled, and the promise ceased to be a longed-for hope because He became real—incredibly real.
My first year in the Lord’s vineyard was full of trials: I lost my job in an instant for no apparent reason; thieves stole from my barns; my marriage was struggling; and, on a personal level, some friends who had been very close to me began to drift away because of my new religious inclination. Despite my growing faith, I felt a sense of uncertainty I could not explain. God sent an angel with a divine message that lit my dimmed conscience with mercy:
“Hold fast to the promise in faith,” that brother told me, “and you will see the hand of God upon you.”
The storm passed, but only after some years in the gospel was I able to understand what he meant by “the promise.”
The truth is that we overlook or read straight through so many passages of the Word that will accompany us throughout our lives. But God is faithful; His promise to us is fulfilled each day we walk with Christ. Is seeing the ways God sustains us not part of the promise? Or an answer to a prayer we pleaded in our private moments with Him? Or perhaps the healing of a sick person without hope, for whom we begged His everlasting mercy? The Word says that God is faithful, that He keeps His covenant for generations and shows His faithfulness to those who love and obey Him (Deut. 7:9). It is not even because of our obedience that the Lord fulfills His promises, but solely because of Christ’s merit.
All of us live on the promise. This is what the Father desires: that we be branches grafted onto the vine to make an impact on a world that knows much about agreements, treaties, and resolutions, but not about covenants, much less this glorious covenant He made with His children, founded on the promise of eternity in His presence.
The apostle Peter fills our hearts with joy when he tells us in the Lord’s name: “Thus God has given us His precious and magnificent promises so that you, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires, may come to share in the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4).
In Christ we have seen the promise of the Eternal One; through Him we have more than an inheritance: we have Him Himself!
God bless you!