There are few things that can be more frustrating than an unfulfilled promise. They can be promises of joy, of loyalty, of friendship, or of kindness. When something promised goes for a long period of time without coming to completion, it can lead to frustration and disappointment and grow to be a source of bitterness and sorrow.
For the Israelites, an unfulfilled promise brought about great strife within their people. It pulled out the worst in them, most often shown in great amounts of doubt, disobedience, and rebellion. Throughout all of the Old Testament, particularly after they were given the Law, they were continually being measured against a standard to which they simply could not adhere. It highlighted their depravity and how far away they were from God. In order to have any kind of relationship with Him, they had to complete a list of steps, in addition to making sacrifices, in order to compensate for their inadequacy. They were promised full reconciliation with God. They were promised intimacy with Him. They were promised freedom from the sacrifical system and the strict rigidness of the Law. They were promised REDEMPTION.
They waited.
They doubted.
They despaired.
They sought fulfillment elsewhere.
They came back to God and waited some more.
What they didn’t realize was that God had His perfect timing and was setting up His plan and getting all of His pieces in place. Once everything was in order, He fulfilled Him promise far more abundantly than His people had dared to dream. And it all happened through His Son, Jesus Christ.
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17
Grace realized. What does that even mean?
Grace is a gift. It releases us from the consequences of our disobedience to God. It means that we are free. Free to have a close, intimate relationship with God. Free to love Him wholeheartedly. Free from being enslaved to sin. Free to do what God created us to do. Free to have communion with Him. Free to approach Him directly. Free to live fully under the umbrella of his grace and truth! We are FREE!
What are you going to do with your freedom? Will you choose to use it? Or will you live as if you’re still operating under the old rules of sin?
Unlike the Israelites, you do not need to wait generations to experience the fulness of God’s grace in your life. You can choose to embrace the grace that Jesus is offering to pour into your life. You can trust that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, willingly died for you so that you could be free. You can choose to believe that His love surpasses the depth and weight of your sin and that you can experience His grace by having a relationship with Him. If you want to learn more about what that looks like, please feel free to let me know. I would love to talk with you!
Perhaps you’ve already embraced that grace, but maybe it doesn’t play out in your everyday life. It is so easy to let life’s struggles stamp out the joy that comes from a relationship with Christ. Ask Jesus to make it more real to you, to bring the realization of His grace to the front of your life. Ask Him to help you extend that grace to others. Thank Jesus for His fulfilled promise to you.
What does the ultimate fulfilled promise look like? Grace realized.
Just Breathe 