Cairo: Jesus in Egypt & God's Unusual Leaning
God seldom gives us all we need to understand, but He always gives us what we need in order to obey. The story of Jesus in Egypt as a boy offers a...
2 min read
Wayne Stiles
:
Dec 13, 2015 10:01:53 PM
When someone makes us a promise, it’s always best to give them the benefit of the doubt. Might as well believe them. Unless, of course, they have a history of fibbing to you.
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It happened again to me not long ago. A man I know shook my hand and said, “Let’s grab a coffee soon; I’ll call you.” I didn’t say it, but I wanted to reply: “No, you won’t. But thanks.” Does that ever happen for you? Honestly, it doesn’t take many times for someone to fail keeping a promise, and I lose confidence in the person.
The only way we can trust that people will keep their word is if they have kept their word.
The same is true of God’s promises.
When parents, pastors, and people we know, love, and trust fail to keep a promise, it does more than disappoint us. It can disillusion us terribly. And if we’re not careful, the letdown can turn us into cynics who trust no one.
Including God.
The pain of broken promises paints a thick coat of distrust around our hearts, so that when we hear about God’s promises, our kneejerk response is doubt. After all, it’s one thing to doubt that someone will call you for coffee. How then are we expected to believe God can do the miraculous?
God understands our reluctance.
Jesus’ words to His disillusioned disciples illustrate why we can believe God’s promises:
I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe. —John 14:29
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Again, the only way we can trust that people will keep their word is if they have kept their word. What’s true of our trust of people is true of our trust of God.
God promised, and God’s promises came true. Just like He said:
I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—and I will not lie to David—that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky. —Psalm 89:34-37
How assuring it is to read God’s Word with confidence, knowing that from a verifiable past God has always kept His promises.
So we understand that He always will.
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