The Way: Promise

2 Timothy 2:11-14: "The saying is trustworthy, for: 'If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—' for he cannot deny himself."

The last couple weeks, we have looked a lot at grace, and we will continue that trend today. I do not think we fully understand God's grace. We might have a good head knowledge of it, but I think many times we wind up missing it's full impact on us. A lot of Christians have this misconception that when we do something wrong God is going to smite us. While there are consequences to our actions and sins, God's overarching plan does not end or change because we sinned. Want proof? Moses killed a man. Then, God called him back to Egypt to free the Israelites. Have you killed someone? Probably not. Hopefully not. Even if you have, take courage, because God used a murderer. That's funny because in our minds not much surpasses murder on the evil scale. David committed adultery. And then, had her husband killed. But God still used him to enlarge and prosper the kingdom. On and on, the examples go. The best example though is Abraham.

Abram and Sarai were seventy-five and sixty-five respectively and barren when God promised that they would have a son. As great as that would be, how much faith would it take to believe that they could have a son at that age? A lot. Why? Because they had to wait twenty-five years before God fulfilled his promise! Twenty-five years! Yet, as is so common to man, they couldn't remain faithful to his promise. Eleven years down the road, they take matters into their own hands. They get the great idea that Abram should sleep with the maid. She conceived a son, and now, today, we are reaping the consequences of Abram's sin. Nevertheless, despite Abram's sin, God remained faithful. Fourteen years later, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Now, the rest is history.

What a beautiful picture of grace! Sure, there were consequences to Abraham's faithlessness, or sin; however, God remained faithful and delivered on his promise. I don't know if there is anything specific God has promised you, but I do know a couple promises found in scripture. Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

First, let me say what these verses do not mean. They do not mean that everything in your life is going to go great. They do not mean that you will be rich or win every game this season. Nor do they mean you'll have a big house, a fancy car, a 100k job, a hot spouse, perfect kids, fame, success, a 4.0 GPA, or a full ride to college. This was God's promise to people who were in exile. They were in captivity for seventy years. God was reminding them that he had not forgotten about them. God wants to remind us of the same thing. Do not take these verses to mean something they do not mean. These verses are true, but they were also true for Peter, who was crucified upside down; Paul, who was eaten by lions; and John, who was exiled to die on an island by himself. They were true for the early church fathers, many of whom were martyred. They are true for present day Christians in Asia, Africa, and South America, who are dying for their faith. For many people, the invitation to die to themselves and live for Christ includes having their head chopped off. That's not a gospel presentation you hear often: Accept Christ and you might get your head chopped off for it. But, those promises remain true. And God will remain faithful to those promises, even when we are lacking in faith, even when we stumble and sin.

What do these promises mean then? Joshua 1:5: "I will not leave you nor forsake you." God promises to be with us everywhere we go and in everything we do, whether that's ministering to orphans in a third-world country or being a celebrity living in Hollywood or living on a street corner barely making it through life. In the end, if you "delight yourself in the Lord, he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 34:7). When we do that, our desires change. Instead of being for material things, our heart begins to hunger for righteousness. We desire to be transformed into the image of his Son.

I don't know about you, but there are certain things that I feel like God has specifically promised me that I will get to do or experience in my life. But so many times, I feel disqualified. When I mess up and don't remain faithful to God (a.k.a. sin), he does remain faithful, because as Paul wrote "he cannot deny himself." Don't miss this! When we feel broken and unworthy of what God has in store for us, God doesn't change his plans for us. It is not like they are a carrot dangling in front of us bribing us to live correctly. Thank God for that. Thank God for his faithfulness. Now, this is not an excuse to fall short of God's standard. It's a reassurance and encouragement that when we do fail, he does not fail us. He does not leave us. He does not forsake us.

My prayer is that you really meditate on 2 Timothy 2:11-14. Spend time digesting it. Don't miss the grace that is revealed to us. My prayer is that we would always remain faithful to God. My prayer is that when we fail God in our relationship with him we would be able to draw on this verse and not let Satan discourage us and keep us wallowing in our failures. My prayer is that we would never forget that God is always faithful to his promises.

-Trace