Promise Fulfilled 应许实现
Dexu Xia
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! Luke 1:45
Each summer when I was a child, I would travel two hundred miles to enjoy a week with my grandparents. I wasn’t aware until later how much wisdom I soaked up from those two people I loved. Their life experiences and walk with God had given them perspectives that my young mind couldn’t yet imagine. Conversations with them about the faithfulness of God assured me that God is trustworthy and fulfills every promise He makes.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a teenager when an angel visited her. The incredible news brought by Gabriel must have been overwhelming, yet she willingly accepted the task with grace (Luke 1:38). But perhaps her visit with her elderly relative Elizabeth—who was also in the midst of a miraculous pregnancy (some scholars believe she may have been sixty years old)—brought her comfort as Elizabeth enthusiastically confirmed Gabriel’s words that she was the mother of the promised Messiah (vv. 39–45).
As we grow and mature in Christ, as my grandparents did, we learn that He keeps His promises. He kept His promise of a child for Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah (vv. 57–58). And that son, John the Baptist, became the harbinger of a promise made hundreds of years before—one that would change the course of humanity’s future. The promised Messiah—the Savior of the world—was coming! (Matthew 1:21–23).
Why can you trust God to fulfill His promises? Which of His promises bring you the most joy?
Loving Father, thank You for being trustworthy and for fulfilling Your promises.
这相信的女子是有福的！因为主对她所说的话都要应验。—路加福音1章45节
童年时期，每年暑假我都会到300公里外的祖父母家，与他们同住一个星期。直到后来，我才发觉自己从这两位我所爱的人身上，吸取了何其多的智慧。他们的人生经验以及与上帝同行的经历，给了他们宽广的视野，是当时我那稚嫩的心灵尚未能想像的。与他们谈及上帝的信实，让我确信上帝值得信靠，知道祂所说的每一个应许都必然应验。
耶稣的母亲马利亚在天使对她说话时，还是个年轻少女。天使加百列带来那惊人的讯息，必叫她大受震撼，但她甘心乐意地接下这项艰难的任务（路加福音1章38节）。或许，后来马利亚拜访了伊利沙伯，她这位年长却奇迹般怀孕的亲戚（有些学者认为，伊利沙伯可能已年届六十）说了一些话，让马利亚心得安慰。当时伊利沙伯热心地证实天使加百列所说的话，宣告马利亚将会成为上帝应许的弥赛亚的母亲（39-45节）。
当我们在基督里长大成熟，就像我祖父母一样，我们就会知道上帝必会成就祂的应许。上帝实现了应许，赐给伊利沙伯及她的丈夫撒迦利亚一个儿子（57-58节）。这孩子就是施洗约翰，他成为弥赛亚的开路先锋，宣告上帝在几百年前所应许的、将改变人类未来的弥赛亚，世界的救主，就要来到！（马太福音1章21-23节）
作者： 凯辛蒂
为何你相信上帝会成就祂的应许？
祂应许的哪一件事，带给你最大的喜乐？
慈爱的天父，谢谢祢，因祢值得信靠。
感谢祢，因祢会成就祢所有的应许。