What Has God Promised?

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 7
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“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will
strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea,
I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness.”
Isaiah 41:1010Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)
What does God promise us? Prosperity? Full health? A good marriage? Children that bring us joy?
Christianity brings many mercies. Those who practice good stewardship tend to live more comfortable, middle-class lives than those who waste their incomes. Those who remember that their bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, eating and exercising responsibly, are apt to be healthier than those who live indulgently or immorally. Women who are loving, respectful helpmeets to their husbands “as unto the Lord” tend to have happier marriages than those who are selfish, demanding shrews. Those who bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord are more apt to have children who bring delight to their hearts than parents who are unlovingly harsh or lazily permissive. But God does not guarantee these mercies. The Lord Jesus was poor. Timothy had “often infirmities,” and Trophimus was sick (1 Tim. 5:23; 2 Tim. 4:20). Hosea’s wife was unfaithful (Hos. 2:55For their mother hath played the harlot: she that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink. (Hosea 2:5)), and the father in Luke 15 watched daily for his prodigal son.
Why do such things happen? Our goal for ourselves may be to have a comfortable life, but God’s goal for us is to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:2929For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)). Perhaps He sees that poverty or ill health may cause us to lean harder on Him, that a difficult spouse may cause us to value the Lord’s love more, that children who send us to our knees today may glorify Him more tomorrow. It is well when our goal is that Christ may be magnified in us (Phil 1:20).