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For You Have Promised
The generation gap between me and my kids is widening by the day. This is especially obvious when we’re in the car together. They scan the radio stations for songs I didn’t even know existed. But they have the same reaction when I insist we tune in to 97.1 FM – country classics.
One of the songs we heard the other day was an oldie by the Judds: “Grandpa, Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ol’ Days.” There’s a line in the chorus that illustrates how progress is not always for the better. “Was a promise really something people kept, not just something they would say and then forget?” That lyric ought to be sent to every politician running for office.
Sadly, we cannot always trust people to follow through with what they have promised to do. We often have to sign multiple copies of contracts, promissory notes, and leases to hold us legally responsible to an agreement we’ve entered. It makes it hard to imagine that there was ever a time when a mere handshake sealed the deal or that your word alone was your bond.
Yet, “when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself” (Heb. 6:13). Further, “he interposed with an oath” (6:17), making it a double guarantee since it is impossible for God to lie. With the assurance of these two unchangeable things, Abraham and his descendants patiently waited and received what was promised.
Did you know that God has also made promises to us? When He gives us His word, it is not something He says and then forgets. It is assured. That ought to give us hope in times of despair. That ought to cause us to trust Him in things we don’t always understand.
Consider the promises God made to us in just one verse of Scripture, 1 Cor. 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” Do you believe?
Promise #1 – You are not alone. Temptation is “common to man.” The devil slithered up to the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. He found the Son of Man and tempted Him in the wilderness. Why should we think that our situation is any different?
Yet, we tend to think in extremes. We say things like, “I’m the only one who struggles with this” or, “No one has to bear such a heavy load like I do.” Others have fought similar battles. Others have kept their faith when tempted quit. You are not alone. God has promised. Do you believe?
Promise #2 – I am with you. “And God is faithful.” Have you ever noticed how much blame God gets for the bad things that happen in our sin-cursed world? When He gave man dominion over all the earth, “it was good.” Sin in the cause. Satan is a deceiver. But God is true. Remember, He cannot lie.
God is for you. He wants you to succeed. Why would He send His Son to save us from our sins only to set a trap for us to fall into sin again? He is faithful. He is with you. He has promised. Do you believe?
Promise #3 – You can handle it. He “will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” While God “does not tempt any man” (Jam. 1:13), He does allow it to happen on His terms. An example of this is seen in Job 1:12, when He gave permission for Satan to test Job: “all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” The result? Job passed the test. “Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God” (1:22).
Whatever load you are carrying, God knows you are able to bear it. Otherwise, He would not allow the temptation. You, too, can pass the test. He has promised. Do you believe?
Promise #4 – You have a choice. God “will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” When in the throes of some trial, we are sometimes tempted to think that there is no way out. This passage assures us of an escape route. It may not be the easiest and most pleasant option available, but the end result is endurance itself.
This choice strengthens us in this life and suits for the life to come. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (Jam. 1:12). That’s His promise. Do you believe?
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). We don’t need grandpa to tell us ‘bout the good ol’ days. Our Father assures us that they are still here.
