God's Promises Eventually Fulfilled

Romans 9:2

Isaiah 7:10-14

Rebekah was given a prophecy which she never saw fulfilled. By the time Jacob (the younger) returned to his homeland, still in fear of his older brother Esau, Rebekah had apparently passed away. By the time Jacob's descendants had an actual homeland in Canaan, well over 400 years had passed by. By the time anyone would have looked at the nation of Israel and said it had become greater than Esau's descendant nation Edom, all the individuals receiving or involved in the actual prophecy were in no condition to witness the fulfillment of God's promise.
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God's perspective is so very different from ours. He offers promises set far in the future to comfort and encourage us now. We don't know when He will return; we don't know when there will be peace of earth; yet we know that it will be so because He has promised it. Isaiah offered his prophecy to encourage King Ahaz in the now although the king had no way to see the fulfillment before acting on faith. The final fulfillment of the prophecy didn't take place until hundreds of years beyond the king's death. Since God is trustworthy, He expects us to act in faith even if we never see the fullness of His promises. He teaches us how to act now, trusting that the outcome He promises will come to be although the circumstances seem to contradict Him.
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Have you ever heard God privately promising something to you beyond the things He has promised to us all? It is difficult to hold onto faith, yet He is greater and far more trustworthy than the apparent consequences of the reality we live in. Even when everything seems to contradict His Word, we can hold onto Him and trust Him to bring about the fulfillment of each one of His promises.