God has a plan. Not one that He is making up as it goes, but one that was in place even before the world was made. Smith masterfully traces these major threads of God’s promises throughout the tapestry of Scripture. While succinct in nature, he still manages to capture the depth and grandeur of God’s plan and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. It’s extremely well-written and highly recommended as an introduction to these timeless, priceless truths.

Nothing you have ever done has taken God by surprise. Nothing that has happened to you has caught Him unaware. Nothing you do and nothing that happens to you can stop God from fulfilling His plan or even slow Him down. That is what it means for God to be sovereign. [8]

God makes promises so great that only God Himself could deliver them, so God took human flesh in Jesus Christ. The Creator entered His own creation. God came and stood with us, acting for us, to fulfill His own promise. [15]

When natural disasters happen, people ask, “Why doesn’t God do something about that?” But when He came and calmed the storm, we rejected Him. When gunmen terrorize schools, we ask, “Why doesn’t God do something about that?” But when He came and cast out demons, we asked Him to leave. When cancer comes we ask, “Why doesn’t God do something about that?” But when He came and healed the sick, people rejected Him. [18]

When our sin reached its full horror, God’s love was displayed in all its glory. If you doubt God’s love for you, look at the cross. No other love can match this. Nothing else in our experience can come close. God’s love for us in Christ is greater than we ever dared to dream. [20]

Christ has done for us what we have failed to do for ourselves. He has lived the life that we have not lived and cannot live. But when we are “in Christ,” all that He has done is ours—His life, death, and resurrection have our name on them as though they were our own. [25]

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