Confidence in God’s Promises

            Do you know any trustworthy people? Perhaps they will tell you something, and you can firmly believe that they are telling you the truth. Or, they may make a promise to you, and you know that they will fulfill that promise. On the other hand, maybe you know some untrustworthy persons. They may have a tendency to lie about things, so you have a hard time believing anything they are saying. They will make a promise to you, but are quick to break that promise. It is very difficult to work with such persons, because you never know if they are going to keep their word.

            Unfortunately, we tend to know a lot more untrustworthy people than we do people who are trustworthy. The world is full of untrustworthy people, who try to get a grip on us, and laugh when we believe in whatever it is they tell us. It can make a person a little worried, because you  never know if you are able to trust someone or not. This is the effect that sin has put on our world. Human beings’ actions are tainted with sin. We may have the intention of doing good, but we keep committing sin, because that’s what our human nature knows how to do.

             However, as Christians, we know that there is one in whom we can confidently place our trust: God. He has kept all of his promises, and will continue to keep his promises—even ones that have not happened yet. God and his promises are revealed to us through the Holy Spirit, who has worked faith in our hearts, through the Scriptures. Our faith in God allows us to have a certainty that surpasses even the greatest earthly promise that could ever be made. The apostle Paul tells us of this certainty: “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

            Paul could have written, “I know what I believe.” That would have shown that he was sure of his faith—the faith that is revealed through the message of the gospel. By saying ‘“I know whom I believe,” he has made his faith all the more personal. Faith now has something at its focus—the Lord God. God is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). When we focus on God and his promises, our faith stands strong and secure.

            In this world, there will still be a struggle to anyone’s word.  We know that human promises will never be perfect in this life. There will continue to be lies and broken promises that will cause worry and doubt in. But we know that we can continually place our confidence in God, who has kept all promises to us in Christ, and will continue to keep all his promises to us. So while we continue our journey here on earth, we confidently say with Paul that we know whom we believe.  We are confident that he will one day bring us home with him.