“…just as he promised through the holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant–the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham” (Luke 1:70-73, NLT).
One of the reasons Zechariah could sing a song of hope was his belief that God always keeps His promises. Check out the phrases from the text:
• “Just as he promised…”
• “…Remembering his sacred covenant…”
• “…(his) oath to our ancestor Abraham…”
Zechariah reached all the way back to Abraham to recall the promises that God had made and fulfilled. In his thinking, hope is built upon God’s continual faithfulness. Recognizing that God has been faithful in the past provides confident hope in the present that God will continue to be faithful and keep his promises in the present.
Sometimes the best remedy for despair in desperate times is a history lesson. For the believer, that history is not limited to God’s faithfulness during our lifetime. It includes the entirety of human history. After all, God’s faithfulness in human history is your history too.
