A Faithful Promise

A Faithful Promise

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 NIV

If God is faithful to keep His promises, then why do troubles befall us believers? Does not God promise to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24)? Doesn't God relieve the pressure of temptation before it becomes too much to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13)? And doesn't God say that he will shower us with blessings (Ezekiel 34:26)? If these words are true then we can either question God's integrity or realize the truth; we have misunderstood the nature of godly protection, we don’t understand struggles in the faith and we have misconstrued godly blessing.

I think that we believers have a tendency to apply earthly consequences to God's spiritual promises. Maybe protection from falling isn’t a protection from physical struggles, but the ultimate fall is actually spiritual destruction. The real promise is that God will protect us from spiritual death. And as far as temptation, maybe we focus too closely on the lure to sin. Instead, we should search for the way to escape temptation* and in the process, find God's mercy. And what is the blessing that God wants to shower upon us? Is it a person, place or many things? Or, is the blessing that God longs to shower upon us is a one-on-one relationship? What He desires is for us to grasp the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. I believe the ultimate blessing is the daily attention we receive from the Trinity.

I think it is easier to hold onto the hope we have been promised when we know what the promise is. We will inevitably experience disappointment if we do not know what to expect from God. And more than anything else, He intends to protect our eternity. He even went to a cross to in order to secure that promise.


*The way out of temptation is to flee, as in run for the hills (1 Timothy 6:11)