Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
What is in the truth of the New Covenant that has an impact on your personal life today?
All seven promises God made to Abraham (Gen. 12:2, 3) are made to you, for Abraham is your "father" by faith. God promises (1) to make of you "a great nation," that is, make your life important; (2) "bless you," that is, make your life happy; (3) make your "name great," that is, people will respect you highly; (4) you "shall be a blessing," that is, to others--out of your inmost soul will "flow rivers of living water" as Jesus said in John 7:37-39; (5) God will "bless those who bless you," that is, He will honor you among your acquaintances; (6) He will "curse" anyone who "curses" you, that is, people will learn to respect you; (7) and in you, through your life, He will bring happiness to "all the families" who know you, for they will be enriched with your "blessings."
Sound impossible? Well, it sounded so to Abraham, and to Sarah especially who just couldn't give birth to the boy baby "heir" that was included in those seven promises. So, it meant waiting a quarter century for the birth of Isaac, "the child of promise," when everyone said it was hopeless. Sarah just couldn't bring herself to believe, so she and her husband invented the Old Covenant in the Hagar/Ishmael episode.
If you have been wrestling with unbelief in the darkness of discouragement, that is what can be expected as a "child of Abraham." (His descendants served for centuries in Egypt, thinking they were born to be slaves! They lacked Abraham's faith.) But you can learn to believe!
Can one learn to be happy as Sarah was at the birth of Isaac, even when your life has been ruined by divorce, illness, accident, loss of job, poverty, disgrace, or prison? Yes; choose to believe the promises of the New Covenant, for that's what Sarah finally did when "by faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised" (Heb. 11:11).
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). "Judge Him faithful"! That's the first step.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 1, 2002.
Copyright © 2017 by "Dial Daily Bread."
