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"Then God said to Noah ... 'Behold, I establish My covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark ... never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. ... I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember My covenant ... I will see it and remember.'" (Genesis 9:8a, 9-10a, 11b, 13-15a, 16b)
From a scientific point of view, rainbows come automatically. If you have water droplets in the air, and sunshine, and the correct angle, you get a rainbow every time.
Some people would use this fact as a way to undermine God's promise. "That's nothing special," they say. But me, I take it the other way: God wanted us to be so sure of His good promise, so comfortable in relying on it, that He chose a natural phenomenon we always see to serve as the sign of His promise going forward. It is as if He said: "I will save you, as surely as the sun comes up in the morning."
God wants us to rely on His strong promises—to rest our full weight on them, convinced that they will not fall apart under us no matter how strongly we trust them. And how we need that strength! Because so much is riding on the promises of God. He has promised us so many good things, and these are just a small selection: "Your sins are forgiven," He says to us. "Whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24b ESV). "I give [My people] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand..." (John 10:28 ESV).
But there is more. He says, "I am the Bread of Life: whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst..." (John 6:35b ESV). "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him. And I will raise Him up on the last day..." (John 6:44 ESV). "Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out..." (John 6:37 ESV, see Mark 16:16). And again, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word, and My Father will love Him, and We will come to Him and make Our home with Him..." (John 14:23b ESV).
There are so many, many more, but I'll end with Peter's summary of God's promises to us: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 2:38b ESV). We know we can trust these promises, because Jesus who made them has laid down His life for us, and come back to life again; so we know both that He loves us and that He has the power to do what He promises. Our lives are safe forever in Jesus' hands.
We pray: Lord, let me trust You with all my heart. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on July 23, 2024
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. How do you decide whether you can trust someone's promise?
2. What do you know about Jesus that makes His promises trustworthy?
3. How can you use God's promises to comfort and strengthen you when you are afraid?
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