Nine days before Christmas! God's promise to Abraham to become a blessing to all the families of the world was passed down through Isaac and Jacob. Judah had 12 sons, and God chose Judah, the third oldest son of Jacob, to carry on the promise that God had given to Abraham. Genesis 49:10 says, "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his." The scepter refers to the staff of a king, and it signifies his authority and power over his people. Before Jacob died of old age, he prophesied to his son, Jacob, that his descendants would be where the kings of Israel would come from. Although King Saul was the first King of Israel and came from the descendants of Benjamin, the younger brother of Judah, he was disqualified because of His disobedience. God then chose King David, who came from the descendants of Judah, to be the King of Israel. Since then, the kingship of Israel has never left the tribe of Judah. Tomorrow, we will discuss what happened to the kings of Israel after King David died.
God's promises will never be stopped by anything or anyone. When God is determined to do something, He will do it, even if it takes thousands of years. He even used His enemies to fulfill His plan. For example, God used Satan to kill Jesus on the cross so that He could save the world from their sins. Satan thought that he won against our Lord Jesus by killing him on the cross, but on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. This past Saturday, Linda and I drove to South Carolina for my graduation at Columbia International University. I am so amazed at how God has guided me through and given me the strength and wisdom to finish my Ph.D. program in Organizational leadership. I believe that before I finished my Ph.D. program, God already determined that I would finish it. God will not start something in our lives that He is not going to finish, and this is the hope that we have in our God.
God will never abandon His promise to us. He promised to take care of us, so there is no doubt that He will. We just need to believe and trust in His promises. He has a wonderful plan for each of us, and we need to follow Him so that we can know his good and perfect will in us (Romans 12:2)
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) Do I believe that God is faithful to fulfill His promise in my life? How should I live my life knowing that God is faithful to fulfill His promises? Describe two of the promises that God promised me.
Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, I am secure in you because you are faithful. You accomplish all that you have promised and determined to do. Thank you that you are always at work in my life, even when I don't feel like it. I praise and honor your name for all the goodness that you have shown me. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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