How many promises have been made to you in your lifetime? A lot, I imagine. And how many promises have you made to others during that time? Again, a lot if you’re like most people. So, how many of those promises were kept and how many were broken?

A big reason that people have a hard time believing anyone anymore is their track record with the unreliability of people’s word. Skepticism abounds in our day whenever someone makes a claim about what they are going to do. Whether it’s a politician or a contractor, an acquaintance or a spouse, people have trouble believing that what they’re being told is rock solid.

One of the things that changes in your life when you choose to commit yourself to Christ is your ability to trust. In fact, trust is essential to even begin your new life as a follower of Jesus. You have to believe that what God says is true is always absolutely true. The Bible reveals to us who God is and how he is different from anyone we will ever know. God’s word also informs us about hundreds of promises God has made.

And God’s promises are totally trustworthy. Everything he says he will do, he has either already done or is in the process of doing it. When you accept that reality, you will have a completely different perspective on things than you had before you believed. You realize that God is completely in control of every situation and doing his best work.

“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through [Christ] the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:20)

You and I become witnesses to God’s promise keeping and we live with confidence that he will always keep his word to us. That enables us to be patient with joyful expectation day after day, knowing that God is always faithful and on time.

Like me, I’m sure you have enjoyed hearing stories from some of our church family each week during our Advent series, Do You Hear What I Hear? Real people facing real issues, learning to trust God with the details and experiencing peace while they wait for God to complete his work.

This Sunday I will introduce you to two people from the Christmas story who were rewarded for their life-long trust in God to keep his promise of sending a Saviour. They show us what it means to persevere in God’s promise and ultimately be blessed beyond anything they could have imagined. Read about Simeon and Anna in Luke 2:21-40 and see what I mean.

Blessings.

Pastor Del