I had been waiting my whole life for what my parents had promised me.

Okay, so it was only a few months. But to my six-year-old brain, it was an eternity. When I finally got to cuddle the fulfillment of my parents’ promise—a fluffy puppy of my very own—I discovered it was worth
the wait.

I often feel this kind of longing around Easter time: the longing that aches with promise. Here’s the beautiful paradox of our faith—we rejoice because of what our God has already fulfilled, but we also long for the fulfillment to come.

Jesus loves us. But we still ache. He rose victorious from the dead. But our loved ones still suffer. We celebrate God’s victory. But we still live with addiction and poverty and war. In Jesus, we are whole and holy. But we still live with disappointment
and sin.

In all this, it can be hard to hold on to God’s promises. However, this Easter season, we can cling to the hope of God’s Word while longing for what will be fulfilled in the future. We can rest in God’s love for us while longing for the day when all will be made right. We can find God’s joy while waiting for the joy to come.

This Easter, ask yourself: How can I cling to God’s promises every day?

Take some time each Sunday leading up to Easter to meditate on one of the five promises on the following page. Write each week’s verse somewhere you will see it often (like your bathroom mirror!), and pray for God to remind you of his promise for you that week.

God’s Promises

March 24^th: God will never leave you.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.’” Hebrews 13:5

March 31: God will listen to your worries.

“Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

April 7: God will strengthen you.

“But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.” Isaiah 40:31

April 14: God makes all things new.

“Then the one who sits on the throne said, ‘And now I make all things new!’ He also said to me, ‘Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.’” Revelation 21:5

Easter Sunday: With God, you are victorious.

“‘Where, Death, is your victory? Where, Death, is your power to hurt?’ Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”

1 Corinthians 15:55–57

Discover more of God’s promises when you read his Word every day. Start at

abs.bible/bible2019