Guest Writer: Kristi Wyman
January marks a fresh start, a new year, a time that many pick a word, make a promise, make plans for all that 2025 will unfold. Come February, March, April, some of these promises have long been forgotten. But this is not true of the promises of God.
The promises of God are based on the noun epangelia which is a law term denoting a summons. It also signifies a gift graciously bestowed, not a pledge secured by negotiation. Many of the promises of God are found in the covenants God makes with His people. Covenant is translated from the word berit, a binding agreement between two parties. The verbs used to indicate covenant are important and include: establish, make, declare, command and remember.
One of the promises of God that always stands out is the promise that a remnant will always remain and that the promised line would continue from Adam to Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we come across lists of begats, lists of strange names that we can’t pronounce and gloss over. But these names of generation after generation are important to understand that God has a plan for each of these people listed just as he has a plan for you and for me. We see the names listed in Matthew 1 of the genealogy of Jesus, but when we go back to the Old Testament and look these names up we quickly discover that these people were not always good. The people in the promised line of Our Savior found themselves in bad and complicated situations that at the time seemed hopeless. Matthew 1:7 lists Rehoboam and Abijah, bad kings that did evil in the eyes of the Lord; yet they too were part of God’s plan of salvation. Matthew 1:5 lists Boaz and Ruth, a family that we learn about in the book of Ruth that found themselves in a seemingly hopeless situation.
In the day to day, it may seem difficult to see what God has planned for your life, but His plan is good and filled with hope. Even if the family you gathered with over the past few weeks drives you crazy, they too are part of God’s plan to bring you to where you are today.
As we read this month, Old Testament promises of God fulfilled through Jesus Christ and continue for us today, may we be filled with hope. These promises do not end and The Lord will never leave you or forsake you.
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