Beyond Resurrection Sunday: Proof of the Promise

I hope you enjoyed Resurrection Sunday! I'm so glad we can say, "He is Risen!" That changes everything.  

The phrase that kept coming back to me over the last week was "Proof of the Promise." 

 At first I thought it was solely about The Cross, Crucifixion, and Resurrection being proof that God keeps His promises - which He does! Yet, the more I mulled it over, the more God revealed that it was a call to look at our lives as Proof of the Promise.  

During Easter, we celebrate the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ as He fulfilled every promise God made about a coming Messiah. Not one detail was left out or one scripture missed. God did every single thing He said He would do through the (perfect) life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Take that in. Not one detail was missed from promises made over hundreds of years. I don't know about y'all, but I forget what I went to grocery store for sometimes! The fact that God checked off the details He shared over centuries is amazing to me. 

It also got me thinking. Why do we think storms or challenges we face are too hard for God to fix or change? Or that He won’t come through on a promise He made to us. Because that's what we're believing when we say "I don't know how this will get better." or "I don't know if this will ever change." or “It’s too late now.” or "Things in the country are so bad, I don't know how we'll get through this."

Those thoughts and feelings are telling God we don't believe He can conquer the challenges in our lives like He conquered the grave. It's telling Him we don't have proof that He keeps His promises. Sheesh.

That shook me. How could we realistically question if God would come through? How could we doubt that things would turn around? Then I realized, those thoughts and feelings are a grave moment. The liminal space where doubt, frustration, and questions are louder than God's response. Where fear of the unknown makes us question what we know to be true. Where the pressure starts to erase the memory of the Promise.

THANK GOD for Sunday! 

Resurrection Sunday is Proof of God's Power. It is Proof of His Promise. It is Proof He loves us beyond measure. It is Proof that He will do exactly what He said He would do exactly the way He said He would do it!

That gave me chills! God is not a man that He should lie or the Son of Man that He should repent. That means what God says is sure. We can stand on His Word, because He will not make us ashamed for believing; He will come through (Romans 5:5). He will complete all that He said He would in perfection.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

Numbers 23:19

We can trust His Word. We can trust His Plan. We can trust His Heart.

Especially when our circumstances scream otherwise. We can trust Him. We can believe for better. We can hope for more. We can pray with expectation. We can have faith that He will come through - on time and in His time.

Why? Because we have personal proof of His Promises, too! The job we prayed for came through. The money we needed showed up right on time. The healing for our loved one was complete (either here or in Heaven). The reconciliation that was needed was found in our family. The softening of our hearts allowed us to love and disciple instead of judging from afar. The joy we now find in getting to go to church to learn and worship changed from seeing it as an obligation. We have personal Proof of the Promise.

That made me think about Jesus and how He might have felt during what we now call Holy Week. He knew what was to come, yet He didn’t let His humanity cause Him to walk away from what God told Him had to happen.

He loved the disciple that would betray Him. He did not argue with Pilate about whether or not He was the king-because the truth speaks for itself. He did not come down from The Cross because His love for us was stronger than His desire for comfort.

He trusted that God would fulfill His prophecies, so He completed the mission He was given - down to the exact words on the Cross calling back to David in the old testament in Psalm 22.

Jesus trusted the Promise. He endured. He obeyed. He loved. He sacrificed. Then He became the purest and most essential Proof of the Promise.

Can I say the same? Can you?

As Christians, we recite scripture, we learn the stories, we celebrate the holidays, but do we take up our own crosses? Do we strive each day to be living Proof of the Promise?

Proof that God is present in difficult seasons?

Proof that no matter what the world does or says we have an eternal hope that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:25-29)?

Proof that God is still good when all around us says otherwise?

Proof that the small details matter as much as the big ones in fulfilling the calling on our life?

Proof that we can love those that make it difficult to do so because we appreciate the love and grace God extends to us?

Proof that our faith is strongest when storms are at their height because it comes from God who perfects it in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)?

Proof that greater is coming and we have an eternal hope that allows us not to be ashamed of what we believe (Romans 5:5)?

Proof that it is not finished until God says so?

This holiday was different. God gave me the gift of not only remembering His story, but a call for us to be active participants in the next chapter of the Gospel story.

What will people write about this period in time?

Will they say the Church was full of living, breathing, serving proof of God’s goodness or will they say we were quiet and idol when the world needed us most?

Will they say we showed how to endure and love during difficult times or that our faith fell flat when it was challenged?

Will they say they we practiced what it means to wait well when the circumstances of life seem to be moving at a slower pace than we expected?

Will they say they saw the same loving hearts before and after the blessing we prayed for was received?

Will they say they experienced generosity or closed fists from those blessed with abundance?

Will they say they were welcomed or treated differently because of what they drove, where they lived, or the place they worked?

Will they see hearts surrendered to God’s Will or those screaming to come down from the cross?

This year the Easter holiday was a celebration and a challenge. A Resurrection and a Reckoning on life as a Christian in 2026.

The world is crying out, will we show up as Proof the Promise is still relevant and available today?

My prayer is that all God hears in response to that questions is a resounding YES followed by “Your Will be done.”

(Matthew 6:10, Luke 22:42)

With Joy In Purpose,

Dr. Lorin R. Carter