Monday, January 20, 2025

          Trusting God is one of the Bible’s leading themes.  Some form of the word trust is found repeatedly throughout the Bible.  Abraham was invited to trust God and the plans that the Lord had for him.  Noah was asked to trust God enough to build an ark.  Peter, James and John were asked to trust Jesus when He called them to drop their nets and follow Him.  John was asked to trust the Lord to bring about the events of Revelation.  Paul was asked to trust God as he testified to the gospel and planted churches by taking the good news of Jesus to the nations. We can trust God.  We can take Him at His Word.  The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
            I recently read one of my favorite Bible verses during my daily Bible reading time.  The verse is 2 Corinthians 1:20 which says, “For no matter how many promises God has made they are ‘YES’ in Christ.”  God is a promise keeper.  God keeps the promises that He made in the Bible.  The Greek word that Paul used for promises in this verse is “epangeliai.”  This word means assurances, guarantees and declarations. This Greek word means more than mere talk or idle conversations.  You may know people who routinely make promises but rarely keep them.  Not God!  Not at all! Whenever God brings assurance, we can trust Him.  We can take God’s guarantees to heart.  We can hold on to His declarations and trust them fully. 
            Sometimes we trust God’s promises reflexively and automatically—almost without deliberating thinking about them.  We have made them a part of our mind and heart and we, by default, recall and cherish them.  But, at times, we have to remind ourselves about what God has promised, guaranteed or declared. I recently heard a sermon where the preacher encouraged believers to rehearse and recite God’s promises and assurances so that we hold on to them more than emotions or feelings when we need a divine promise. 
            We want to remember that God’s promises are good.  His promises are good for us and anything that we may be facing in life.  His promises are gracious.  He does not owe us anything.  He has no obligation to give us anything.  But by His grace, God is exceedingly generous and gracious toward us.  He is faithfully at work in us to make us like Christ and to deepen our resemblance to Him.  We are saved by Christ so that we can become like Christ.  This process of becoming like Christ can be called sanctification.  We are becoming more like Christ every day and in every way.  God’s promises help to form and shape us into the likeness of Christ.
            Interestingly, the word “YES” that Paul used in 2 Corinthians 1:20 is a particularly powerful affirmative expression.  In Christ, we can be certain that every divine promise finds its affirmation and fulfillment.  A bit later in 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”  Paul wants us to know that in His humble coming and birth, Christ bestowed upon us His riches and grace.  Whereas sin has left us impoverished and broken, Christ has come to us so that by His grace we are in possession of every promise that the Father has made in and through the Son.  Whereas we have wandered away from God, Christ has come to claim us and win us back for Him. 
            Perhaps you could begin to explore some of the many promises found in Scripture.  There is a lot of fertile ground to explore and plow in the gospels, Paul’s letters and the Psalms to name only some.  Reading and rehearsing God’s promises will help you to be familiar with them and to own them in those times where a promise from God could be the peaceful antidote and prescription that you need in an anxious or worrisome season of life. Have a great Monday!