Rejoicing in Advance

Sunday, June 30, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.”

John 8:54–56

When we talk about the faith of Abraham, we often think of a few ways he demonstrated trust in God: his willingness to leave his home for a new country, his long wait for a promised son, and then his obedience to God’s command to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. The faith of Abraham is most clearly seen in the things he still believed even though he never saw them. “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). The permanent nation in the land we know as Israel did not become a reality until hundreds of years after Abraham’s death. And the most important promise—Jesus—did not come until thousands of years had passed. Yet Abraham rejoiced in God’s promises, even those he did not personally experience.

There are hundreds of promises in the Word of God. Many of us have claimed those promises and found them to be true in our own lives. But the promises that we have not yet seen fulfilled are just as certain as the ones in the past. God has never failed to keep His promises, and we will not be disappointed in receiving all He has promised to us. It is right and fitting for us to be thankful and rejoice in God’s future promises today. Jesus said, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

Today's Growth Principle: 

We do not need to have already received God’s promises to rejoice in them with confidence.