A Promise Worth Waiting For

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:16

“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
— Philippians 2:10–11

It feels good to be back. I hope you all had a great spring break.

Did I tell you I’m having another baby? It truly is a joy to have children. Maybe one day you’ll experience just how meaningful that joy really is. My wife and I recently bought our son some more books, and we even bought him his very first Bible—in Spanish.

Right now, he doesn’t understand anything I’m saying. He doesn’t speak yet, and he doesn’t know what the words mean. But we believe it’s important to start reading to him early so that he associates Scripture with something good, fun, and comforting. We are creatures of habit, and forming good habits early matters.

The Bible we bought is short and filled with pictures that briefly tell different Bible stories. It’s wonderful—but as I flipped through it, I noticed something important was missing, important promises of God.

A Question to Consider

Let me ask you something.

When you think about the things Jesus has done—or the promises He has made—what comes to your mind?

What the Bible Tells Us

Scripture makes powerful promises about Jesus:

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven…”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:16

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…”
— Philippians 2:10–11

These are not abstract ideas. These are promises.

Jesus promised that He would return. He promised that the dead would rise. He promised that we would be united with Him forever.

That is a deeply important promise—because every one of us knows someone who has passed away, and one day, each of us will face death ourselves. When we are young, we rarely think about that reality. Life feels long. It feels open-ended. And Lord willing, many of us do have long lives ahead of us.

But we never truly know.

That’s why, in our youth, we must cling to Jesus by faith.

“What Do I Do While I Wait?”

You might ask, “I believe in Jesus, and I believe He’s coming back—but what do I do while I wait?”

I want to share a story with you.

Have you ever heard the story of Lamont and his father?

The Story of Lamont

There’s an old spiritual song that was especially prominent in Black churches during the 20th century. The song is often called “Hold Out.” The refrain repeats after the soloist declares:

“I promised the Lord that I would hold out…”
“…until He meets me in Galilee.”

That song tells a story.

Lamont was a young football player. One day after practice, his father told him to wait on the corner until he came to pick him up. Lamont obeyed and waited.

First, some of his friends drove by and offered him a ride home—but only if they could stop by a party first. Lamont said no.
“I’m going to wait for my father.”

Next, a group of girls pulled up and honked. They told him they were going the same way and offered him a ride. Lamont hesitated, but eventually said,
“You go ahead. I’ll wait for my father.”

Then it began to rain.

A long stretch limousine pulled up. A well-dressed man rolled down the window and said,
“Son, I don’t know where you live, but if you get in, we’ll take you home.”

Lamont remembered what his father told him. He remembered what he had been taught—not to get into cars with strangers. So he stayed where he was.

Finally, his father arrived.

And Lamont was glad he had waited—because his father had something special for him.

The Meaning of the Story

This story illustrates the faithfulness of a boy who trusted his father’s promise.

Along the way, Lamont faced three temptations:

• His friends, who wanted to party (the world)
• The girls, who appealed to desire and comfort (the flesh)
• The wealthy stranger, offering a shortcut (the devil)

Yet Lamont stayed faithful.

And in the same way, Jesus has given those who receive Him His Spirit—the power to overcome temptation—and His Word, which teaches us how to walk faithfully.

Waiting Well

So what do we do while we wait for Jesus?

We share our faith

We resist temptation

We seek true and lasting wealth

We refuse to place anything above Christ

And when we wait faithfully, our reward is not temporary comfort—it is Jesus Himself.

We will be united with Him.
We will live forevermore.

And that is a promise worth holding onto.