Not long ago, I was scheduled to depart on a flight from LAX when I heard the news no one wants to hear; your flight has been delayed. My stress level began to rise because I had a connecting flight to catch, and if I missed that flight, the purpose of my trip would be ruined. I found myself in the familiar place of feeling out of control and hoping my flight would leave at the right time. While it ended up working out, the experience was both stressful and disheartening. I’ve found that some people take that kind of approach with God and His promises in Scripture. They feel out of control and hope God will come through on His promises.

Take courage, dear friends. New Testament hope is so much better than that! Perhaps the better way to think about God’s promises is like the sunrise. It doesn’t matter where you are on earth or how dark it is; the possibility of the sun rising is never a question of “if” but “when.” We know that the sun will rise, and our only choice is to wait patiently for it to happen. This is how we should approach God’s promises in the Bible. We don’t need to wish or speculate that He might come through – we know He will! And in the case of Romans 8:28, we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him. We can be as sure of this as we are that the sun will rise tomorrow because our God is a promise maker and a promise keeper. 

Final Thought: Spend 15 minutes going through your Bible with a highlighter and mark any promises you see.