Promises Truly Overwhelming

Scotty Smith:  A Prayer about the “I Will’s” and “My’s” of Gospel Promises

And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. Jer. 32:38-41

Most loving Father, no portion of your Word exposes the smallness of my heart and the enormity of your goodness than this one. I welcome your invitation this Advent season to discover, all over again, that the gospel is so much more glorious than I could ever hope or imagine.

As I pray my way through these familiar verses, the main thing that stands out is all the blessed personal pronouns—all the “I will’s” and “my’s” in the text, and you’re the One doing the talking. Indeed, Father, you’ve made promises you alone can keep. I praise you for being so immeasurably generous and resolutely faithful to your covenant. There are no contingencies in the gospel. There’s no “my part” and “your part”. There’s just you. Hallelujah!

I praise you for your promise never to stop doing good to us… (pause). I praise you for revealing how much joy you experience in doing good to us… (pause). I praise you for the promise of a new, whole, single heart… (pause). I praise you for promising to show covenantal goodness to my children and grandchildren… (pause). I praise you for making sure I will never turn from you… (pause).

These promises are truly overwhelming—contradicting how I’ve thought about you most of my life. You’ve already “made good” on your promise to make an everlasting covenant with us, and this fuels the fire of our faith. Why would I doubt any of your other promises?

Lord Jesus, well beyond Jeremiah’s day, you came into our world and you accomplished everything necessary to prove our Father wasn’t exaggerating. Your incarnation, life, death, and resurrection—all for us,  guarantee God is this good, all the time . . . and all the time, God is this good to us!

Because of you, Jesus, we are already perfectly forgiven and have already been declared to be righteous in God’s sight. Because of you, one day we will be made completely whole and the whole creation will be made new. On that day our Father will plant us in the land of the new heaven and new earth. We believe… help us in our unbelief, dear Lord.

Until that day, Holy Spirit, continue your transforming and liberating work in our lives. Free us to love and serve our God with singleness of heart, affectionate reverence, and gospel-driven obedience.
Hallelujah, what a salvation! Hallelujah, what a Savior! So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ triumphant name. Amen.