It’s easy to make a promise. Following through on a promise is much harder.
There are people in our world who make empty promises. They pledge to come to an event, and then cancel at the last minute. They swear they won’t tell a secret to anyone, and then they turn around and spill it to all their friends.
Every time a promise is broken or a commitment cancelled, our hearts sink deeper into disappointment and distrust. We begin to doubt that person’s word. The next time they make a promise, we don’t fully believe them (or even at all).
This is a sad reality we experience with people (and sometimes, we ourselves inflict it on others). Due to our imperfection, our over-commitment or over-booking, or our lack of courage to say no when we don’t want to do something, we don’t always do what we say we will. We want to please, so we make bold statements and strong commitments. But when we can’t stick to those promises, the other party gets hurt.
This isn’t a description of everyone, for there are people of integrity who do what it takes to honor their word (I happen to know several). Nor is this a fact of life that occurs all the time. But it happens frequently enough that most (if not all) of us can relate to the pain of a broken promise.
That pain is crisply incompatible with what we find in Jesus. He not only makes promises; He keeps them. Jesus is a Promise Keeper.
Numbers 23:19 tells us, “God is not a man, that he should lie” (ESV). In Isaiah 55:10-11, the Lord proclaims, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void” (NKJV). When God says something, He means it. Not only does He mean it, but it is guaranteed to produce what He has planned.
If He says He’ll do it, He’ll do it.
If He says He is someone, He is.
Jesus, Who is the Truth and the Word (John 14:6, 1:1), is true to His word. He’ll never make a commitment He can’t keep. He’ll never back out of an appointment. He will NEVER break a promise.
There are many people in Scripture who experienced the Promise Keeper in their lives.
• Abraham and Sarah were promised a son; they received Isaac (see Genesis 15, 17, 18, and 21).
• Joshua was promised the ground his feet trod. The Lord told him he would lead the Israelites to possess the Promise Land, he would have victory, and God would be with him through it all. Each of these promises came to pass in his life (see Deuteronomy 31, Joshua 1, and Joshua 23).
• Hannah besought God for a son. Eli, the priest, blessed her and said,“May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him” (1 Samuel 1:17, NLT). Hannah took that as a promise, believing God would do it. And He did. In less than a year, Samuel was born (see 1 Samuel 1).
• David was promised a kingdom; he became one of the most iconic and beloved kings of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16, 2 Samuel 1-5, 2 Chronicles 29).
• Hezekiah was on the brink of death. God sent Isaiah to tell him that he would soon die, but Hezekiah asked for more time. God obliged, promising him 15 more years of life; Hezekiah was healed and lived 15 more years (see Isaiah 38 and 2 Chronicles 32).
• Simeon was promised that he would see the Messiah before he died; in his old age, he beheld the face of Jesus (see Luke 2).
These powerful testimonies are only a sample of what our Promise Keeper can do (and does). Jesus doesn’t show favoritism (though you are His favorite . . . confusing, huh?); if He strengthened anyone, EVER, then He will strengthen you too. If He provided for anyone, EVER, then He’ll provide for you too. If He rescued anyone, EVER, then He’ll rescue you too.
All the promises in God’s Word, and all those words that have been spoken over your life by Him, will come true. Not only in heaven or after you die. Here. Now. In this life, on this earth. If He said it, it will be. If He made a promise, He will keep it. How amazing Jesus is!
What are the promises you’re clinging to right now?
Cling to them with hope – not a wish that they might be fulfilled, but a confident certainty that they will flourish in your life. Find verses from the Bible that speak of your promise. Read them, study them, get them inside you. Write them down, place them somewhere you will see them often, and allow your heart to trust in those God-breathed words.
If you’re struggling to trust God to keep His promises, take a look at His history. He has an impeccable track record.
I’m not just talking about Bible stories, although they should be your main, go-to source. Search for the goodness of God in history. Seek for His faithfulness in the lives of your family, your friends, your coworkers.
Ask people to share their testimonies. Every time you hear, read, or see one, whisper to your heart, “He will do it for me, too.”
Choose to believe. Choose to trust. Choose to hope. When God is the One you look to, you won’t be disappointed.
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