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I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15).

As promised, we return to this word of God to Jacob, a promise made to him as he fled from his brother’s anger.

In my devotion last Tuesday, I wondered how African slaves sold on the American auction block kept hope alive. I’m sure the answer is very complex, but I think we catches glimpses of it in their songs such as Swing Low Sweet Chariot. This is a song about hope and the promised land rooted in biblical promises such as the one we have in our text. God says, I will bring you back to this land.

Remember that I pointed out that Jacob is running for his life. His brother is angry with him. And the anger is justified. Jacob has connived and tricked his brother out of the family birthright and blessing that normally went to the oldest son.

But at the heart of Jacob’s action is a lack of faith in God. Rebekah, Jacob’s mother, had learned, even before her twins were born, that the older would serve the younger. But instead of allowing God time to fulfill his promise, they had acted together to trick father Isaac and brother Esau.

Yet, God promises to bring Jacob home. And he does it. This theme of God fulfilling his promise in the midst of unbelief continues throughout the Bible. When the people of Israel reach the promised land, they don’t believe that God can bring them in. They are banished to the wilderness for a generation, but God brings their children into it.

Later, when Israel refuses to worship God, he threatens to remove them from the land. They don’t take him seriously; they keep sinning. Even as God sends Israel into Exile, he promises to bring them back. He will resettle them in the promised land. He had promised Abraham that this land would belong to his children forever. He will keep his promise.

What does all this have to do with Christians today? Well, at least two things. First, it points towards Jesus on the cross. Paul is emphatic, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners, enemies, even, of God. When we read about Israel, we read our own stories. We are saved by grace, nothing else. There is joy in that.

Secondly, we are promised a land as well: a renewed earth. We have something to look forward to. We believe that there is life after death. While the details might be few, one thing is clear, the renew earth will be way better than this one. And God will be with us all the way from here to there.

Those things deserve a party don’t they. Put a little celebration into your day today, as you consider the hope we have in God.

That hope of a renewed earth fueled the songs of African slaves in the Americas. It’s a hope that belongs to all Christians. It’s a hope that we need today.

Tomorrow is the first day of Lent. In these Wilderness Wanderings, we will use Lent to explore the many dimensions of Christian hope. Hope that we enable us to endure in our wildernesses.