The beginning of a new year is a time of possibility and promise. Not that there are actually greater possibilities on January 1, but when minds are focused on new beginnings, new beginnings have a better chance.          

It is natural at such a time for a Christian to turn to the promises of the Bible. However, a search of the word “promise” in Scripture may be a little frustrating. Bible promises turn out to be very different things than New Years’ resolutions. Since God simply is not beholden to anyone else’s schedule, Bible promises rarely merge neatly with human timing.  

Take, for example, God’s promise to the patriarch Abraham. “I will make you into a great nation,” says God to the husband of Sarah (Genesis 12:2*). Twenty-five years later, when Abraham is 100 years old and still-barren Sarah is 90, God shows up again one day, promising the couple will have descendents. They both just laugh. Within the year they get their son, but Isaac hardly constitutes the great nation God had promised. It is many centuries before anything like a nation comes of Abraham’s progeny, and in the meantime there is the matter of 400 years of Egyptian slavery. It’s not that God didn’t fulfill His promise, but He did take His time. 

The New Testament book of Hebrews includes a Bible hall of fame: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and others. At the end of the list comes this amazing assertion: “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (Hebrews 11:39). None of them? It’s true. They all died not yet having experienced the complete fulfillment of what God had said He would do for them. Yet they died believing. 

The big one for the Hebrews was the promise of the Messiah. For thousands of years they waited for the Savior first promised—or at least hinted at—in Genesis 3:15. Finally the Messiah did come. He was born in Bethlehem as promised (Micah 5:2), of a virgin as promised (Isaiah 7:14), and, as some eventually discovered, He came on the timing God had planned all along (Daniel 9:24-27). Nevertheless, it took a very long time—thousands of years—for that promise to be fulfilled. Frank Sinatra sounded egotistical when he sang, “I’ll Do It My Way,” but God is not egotistical. He is simply God. And He will indeed do it His way. 

Jesus made one of the most remarkable promises of Scripture when He said that after His execution He would arise from the grave. This promise He kept in short order—His followers discovering the empty tomb less than three days after He had been buried. Some modern Bible readers have questioned whether Jesus really did arise from the tomb, but it’s not a question His contemporaries asked. Those who deny the resurrection today cannot deny the authenticity of the New Testament record. As a historical source, the New Testament has more documented support than any other ancient document. The modern doubters simply deny that a supernatural event such as a resurrection can happen.  

Yet history attests that many of Jesus’ contemporaries died martyrs—executed because of their belief in the resurrected Messiah. They were on the scene, and they did not doubt the fulfilled promise. Peter, for example, wrote, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his Majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). Christ’s resurrection is the best evidence that God indeed keeps even His most difficult promises. 

We can claim God’s promises for ourselves. The Psalmist writes:

“My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
That I may meditate on your promises”
(Psalm 119:148).

What we cannot do is specify how God will fulfill the promises He makes. Hebrews 6:15 identifies the appropriate attitude: “waiting patiently.” And patience grows out of a heart that is humble toward God. James wrote, “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (James 2:5).  

Of Jesus’ promised second coming, which will bring on that kingdom, Peter wrote, “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish” (2 Peter 3:8-9).  

With the New Year upon us, possibility and promise are in the air. Here is an exceptional promise from Jesus that we can take with us into the New Year: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him” (John 14:21). Given the assurance of that promise, we can afford to wait patiently if other promises seem not always to be fulfilled according to our personal schedules.

B.W. 

*All scripture references taken from the New International Version.