Child of Promise  

Galatians 4

There are so many different things I could write about in regards to this song and what it has meant to me and to others since I first wrote it. It emerged after I’d spent some time studying chapters 3, 4 and 5 of Galatians chapters and examined the difference between living by the Law and living by the Spirit; living under terms of slavery versus living in a covenant of grace, life and freedom.

Using the illustration of Sarah and Hagar, and Isaac and Ishmael, Galatians 4 outlines how our thinking, doubt and lack of faith often lead us to living as slaves under the Law, as we attempt to achieve through self-effort, self-sufficiency, and self-‘anything’ to ‘make stuff happen’, rather than having faith in, and relying on the Father’s goodness, His timing and ability to bring about His best for our lives.

There are so many things that we encounter and experience in this life that seek to bind us, to bring us into slavery - social pressures to conform and to measure up physically or vocationally; being seen as successes via our social status; or in our various roles as men or women. Financial pressures, sexual images and other bondages are prolific in the cultures of the world in which we live, bringing degradation to our worth, value, our self-esteem and the way we allow other people to view, treat and use us (and vice versa).

The thing is (and the Good News is) we have Jesus. He came to break all those yokes of bondage. Galatians 4:28 says, “Now you…like Isaac, are children of promise.” That means you! That means me! Us! The church! So often we live with Hagar thinking and lifestyles, while all the while, in Christ, we are Sarahs. 

In many ways, this song is autobiographical. The first two lines of the song say, “I know I’m a child born of promise, not of pain…” As someone who has been living with an illness diagnosed as chronic and degenerative for many years, I know what it is to be in pain. However, over and above all that, I know that I am a child of promise with a delightful inheritance (Gal 4:7). That is my identity and my promise; not a medical diagnosis.

This world offers all sorts of talismans that purport to give hope and deliverance, but only the Blood and Name of Jesus can truly bring the identity, the hope, the healing and the freedom that all of mankind long for. And as we live out our lives as children of promise, we have the opportunity to bring the gift of truth and freedom to those who are yet to hear, know and experience the wonder and joy of our loving Heavenly Father. 

“I know I’m a child born of promise, not of pain,

And I know I stand forgiven by the Lamb that was slain

And I know, by the Spirit, my inheritance is in His Name…”

Child of Promise - Belinda Tigell (C) 2008 

from the album “Jubilee”

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Belinda Tigell is an Australian singer-songwriter, speaker, teacher, worship leader and author. Find her regular blogs on belindatigellministries.com. 
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