Can I trust God to do what He promises?

Deuteronomy 33–34; Psalm 119:145–176; Isaiah 60; Matthew 8

Isaiah tells the people of God that in the future, they will be blessed beyond imagination, that kings and the wealth of nations will come to them. As I read this, I wonder if he is talking about the thousand year reign of Christ in Revelation known as the Millennium or if he is referring to the church because the New Testament speaks of Christians being Abrahams offspring: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” (Galatians 3:29)

While this was not a promise given directly to Abraham, it was given to his heirs. I’m not sure why some theologians consider the church is separate from Old Testament believers. To make this distinction would make the OT totally irrelevant with no point in reading it. However both OT and NT speak of a true Israel meaning all who remained faithful to God during those eras in the Bible. Romans 9:6 says that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” a statement something like “not everyone born to Christian parents is a Christian” or “not everyone who goes to church is a true believer.” This means God defines His people by their faith, not by anything else and no matter when they lived.

This helps me consider that what God says about true believers in the OT can also apply to true believers in the NT and even today. Here is the passage:

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age. You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the Lord; in its time I will hasten it. (Isaiah 60:15–22)

Certainly, this describes a time that has not yet happened. Some might say it is ‘pie in the sky’ and not practical, just a hope that Pollyanna types hang on to so they can get through the tough spots, even the “forsaken and hated” trials of life. Others might say this refers to heaven because some of the words are like the descriptions of glory in Revelation.

For me, it seems a mixture of both a future on earth and the eternal life God promises me. And it does help me with the tough spots. These days, I am deeply burdened by the lack of faith, even the lack of interest in spiritual things in the lives of so many people. God is seldom mentioned by the media and the name of Jesus Christ is used in profanity far more than in worship. The church is mocked. Israel is hated. God is considered dead.

Yet He promised that if I believe in Jesus Christ, my life will change. It has. No other explanation but that God has kept His promise. If that one, why not the promises made in this passage? He is mysterious, but I cannot say He is fickle.

APPLY: Rest in Him. Rest in His promises. Don’t be anxious when theologians argue about their relevancy. Trusting Jesus is not about what human minds can figure out about the past or the future. It is about hanging on to the hand of Jesus in the dark and in the light, knowing that this One who changed my life can do whatever He says He will do with the rest of it and with His world that He created.