Our God is faithful, and He will surely fulfill what He has promised us in His time and in His way!

Our God is faithful, and He will surely fulfill what He has promised us in His time and in His way!

 

 

  

“As Elizabeth was barren and they had no child, and both were well advanced in years” (Luke 1:7). While meditating on this verse, I would like to share the lessons given to me:

 

(1)   When I read this passage, I am reminded of Sarai, Abraham’s wife, in Genesis: “Now Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30). Sarai, who could not conceive and had no child, “by faith … received power to conceive, because she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11).

 

(a)   While meditating on the statement that she considered the One who promised to be faithful, I am reminded of one of my favorite verses, 2 Timothy 2:13: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” [Modern Translation: “We may be unfaithful, but the Lord is always faithful and cannot break His promise”].

 

(i)                 What was the promise given by this faithful God to Abraham, Sarai’s husband? It is in Genesis 15:5: “And He brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” [Modern Translation: “Then the Lord took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. That is how many descendants you will have’”].

 

·         Romans 4:18 says: “In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be’” [Modern Translation: “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations, for God had said to him, ‘That’s how many descendants you will have’”].

 

·         By faith, Abraham became the father of many nations. Likewise, his wife Sarai, though she was too old to bear a child, “by faith was enabled to conceive a child because she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11, Modern Translation).

 

(b)   Just as Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, were both very old (Luke 1:7, Modern Translation), “Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though at about one hundred years of age he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb” (Romans 4:19, Modern Translation).

 

(i)                 Abraham never wavered in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Romans 4:20–21, Modern Translation).

 

·         Sarai, who had such a remarkable husband of faith, followed his example and “by faith … received power to conceive” (Hebrews 11:11). In other words, both Abraham and Sarai were convinced that God was able to do what He had promised (Romans 4:21, Modern Translation).

 

(c)   Our God is faithful, and He will surely fulfill what He has promised us in His time and in His way!

 

(i)                 The promise the Lord personally gave me is John 6:1–15 (the feeding of the five thousand). For my family, it is 1 Peter 5:10: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” [Modern Translation: “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to share His eternal glory in Christ will Himself restore you, make you strong, firm, and steadfast”]. For the Victory Presbyterian Church, where I serve as senior pastor, it is Matthew 16:18: “… on this rock I will build my church …” (Modern Translation).

 

·         The reason I believe that the Lord, who is faithful, is bringing these promises to fulfillment is because of these assurances:

 

-                   Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” [New Translation: “God is not like a man—He does not lie. He is not a human being—He does not change His mind. When He speaks, He acts; when He makes a promise, He fulfills it”].

 

-                Isaiah 55:11: “So shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” [Modern Translation: “So also is My word that goes out from My mouth: it will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”; Common Translation: “So it is with the word that goes out of My mouth: it will not return to Me without accomplishing its mission, but will succeed in doing what I sent it to do”].