Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you.

For our time in God’s Word today—here in 2026—the days of this new year are still fresh, aren’t they? A new year brings with it a whole host of possibilities. And along with that, there can also be an anxiousness as we wonder what the days of 2026 will look like. How do we navigate our way through whatever may come?

Because of that, I would like us to look at a promise of God—a promise we can cling to and hold onto all year long. Look with me, please, at 2 Corinthians, chapter one. We begin with verse 16.

Here the apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes:

“I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards, ready to say ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’ at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’”

He then goes on to say in verse 19:

“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you—Sylvanus and Timothy and I—was not ‘Yes’ and ‘No,’ but in him it is always ‘Yes.’”

That is such a glorious title that Paul lifts up here: the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Ponder that with me for a moment, would you? The second member of the Trinity takes on flesh. We just celebrated that at Christmas, didn’t we? He takes on flesh for the purpose of going to the cross—to die and to rise for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ sheds His blood and effects reconciliation between God and us, a relationship broken because of sin. Jesus pays a debt we could never pay. He is raised from the tomb, and the sacrifice is accepted. It is glorious, isn’t it?

When the apostle Paul lifts up that wonderful reality with the words, “the Son of God, Jesus Christ,” he then continues in verse 20:

“For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’”

That means that the One who was born to die and rise for us, the One who went to the cross to bring about reconciliation, the One who has ascended to the right hand of the Father—He is the very guarantor of every single promise God has made.

We know that God’s promises are sure because the One who stands behind them is the second member of the Trinity—the very One whom the Gospel of John tells us, in chapter one, that all things were created through Him. He is the guarantor of everything—every single promise.

Paul then goes on to say in the second part of verse 20:

“For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen,’ to the glory of God.”

“Amen” in the Hebrew is simply another form of “yes.” And so when we say “Amen,” we are saying “Yes.” It is a confession of confidence.

Several years ago, we were in Oklahoma on New Year’s Eve, and we decided not to be on the road right at midnight. Just after midnight, we thought it would be safer to head back to where we were staying, so we left a little early. We were on the freeway for a few minutes when suddenly we saw a whole host of flashing lights. A terrible accident had occurred, and the freeway had been closed.

All of us were being routed off the freeway. A few minutes later, we found ourselves in unfamiliar territory, and our navigation system wasn’t really helping. But in the distance, we saw Christmas lights, and we remembered passing those lights on our way in. So we headed toward them.

We navigated by the light.

In this new year of 2026, we navigate by the Light—the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Light and the guarantor of every single promise of God. That means we can live with confidence as we enter the uncertainty of each new day. We navigate it based on the Lord Jesus Christ, who stands behind every promise of God. And to that, we say “Amen.”

Let us pray.

Gracious Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for this time in Your Word. Your Word is truth. We thank You, Lord Jesus, that You stand behind every single promise. We give You thanks that we can enter this new year with the confidence that comes from the promises of the Triune God.

Holy God, we praise You, we thank You, we give You glory, and we say “Amen,” in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Lord be with you.  Encourage someone.  

Pastor Eibel