When e’er you make a promise, consider well its importance. And when made, engrave it upon your heart. Those are the lyrics to a song I learned at a very early age in Girl Scouts.
As a child, I was taught to honor and keep promises, but many of us have learned that some promises are impossible to keep, whether we’re on the promising side or the promised side. Most of us are guilty of making promises to our kids that we can’t keep, so we’ve had to sharpen our parenting skills and learn how to comfort little ones whose hearts are sick after their hopes have been deferred.
There are weighty promises to last a lifetime like I do, and lesser promises like I promise to take out the trash. But all promises involve giving our word to another person.
There is no one more trustworthy at keeping promises than the Lord. He is the ultimate Promise Keeper, and His Word is full of promises to us. Our words fail; His do not, ever. God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through? (Numbers 23:19 NLT).
Although God is perfect and needs no system of checks and balances or accountability, He does confer with the other two members of the Trinity, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:26 says that God said, let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. He was talking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit—a heavenly board meeting, of sorts. Regarding God’s promises, we read in 2 Corinthians 1:20 (MSG), Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the “Yes” of Jesus. In Him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God's “Yes” and our “Yes” together, gloriously evident. God’s promises have the stamp of approval from the other Board Members! Be encouraged today with these great promises from our Promise Keeper, engraved on His heart:
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you (Isaiah 43:2 NLT).
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you (Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT).
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in You (Isaiah 26:30).
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:29).
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).
© 2021, 2023 Chris Werre