He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.
– Luke 1:32-33
How many of us feel confident about what lies ahead? How many of us feel uncertain or anxious or even oppressed when we consider the future? As we look around this fallen world it can feel like hope is waning or is all the way gone. So we need the assurance of God’s faithfulness.
The promise in Luke 1:33 that Jesus “will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” has been inaugurated but not completed, it has already begun at his birth but it is not yet finished. Our hope in uncertain days lies there. The people of Israel waited hundreds of years for the coming of the Messiah, and when he came many missed him. We have been waiting for 2,000 years for the coming back of that same Messiah, the rescuer, the redeemer–Jesus. And when he comes we will be unable to miss him–he will come in power to make all things new and wipe away every tear and rule his perfect kingdom forever.
It is God’s faithfulness to fulfill his word and pour out favor through Christ that enables us to wait with patience and with eager longing. It is God’s faithfulness to lift up the lowly and weak that enables us to live faithfully in our waiting. In God’s faithfulness He sent His Son, just as He promised, to be born of a virgin girl. And in His faithfulness He knows the day and time of His Son’s return–because He has appointed it. So as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and as we look forward to the return of our Lord Jesus in power, let us have confidence in God’s great faithfulness and favor that He has always shown his people.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.
