Promises are words we hear often but struggle to believe. With a divorce rate over 50 percent in the United States, it can be hard to even trust the promises made at wedding altars. For some, vows feel more like a photo op for social media than a lifelong commitment.
When we’re surrounded by so many promises in life, it’s easy to tune them out—even the sincere ones. And when a promise requires something of us in return, we may become even more skeptical. If every TV show had to remove promises from their scripts, many of our favorite programs (even weather forecasts!) would go “blank screen.”
That constant experience of broken promises can train us to look at God’s promises the same way. But throughout the Bible, God makes promise after promise to His people: I will never leave or forsake you. When two or three are gathered in My name, I will be in their midst. I will rescue and protect you. God sounds like someone who wants a close, faithful relationship. But can we trust Him to deliver? “God, where are You?” is often the unspoken prayer of believers.
So why can we trust God to keep His promises? Here are three quick reasons—though there are truly as many reasons as there are stars in the sky.
1. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). All through the Old Testament, God promised to send a Savior. The New Testament opens with the fulfillment of that promise.
2. “When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God.” (Isaiah 43:2–3a)
The fact that you can read this right now is proof that God has brought you a mighty long way. He has already kept this promise in your life—and He will do it again.
3. “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). God is not like us. He doesn’t change His mind, forget, or fail. What He says must come to pass—the same voice that spoke creation into existence speaks His promises over you.
If we struggle to believe God’s promises, the issue isn’t with God; it’s with how we see Him. A powerful first step is to consider and meditate on who God is. The Bible is, among many things, a love letter God wrote to His beloved—that’s you. People may fail, but God will not fail you, no matter what it looks like in the moment.
Take one promise of God today, speak it out loud, pray it back to Him, and take one small step of obedience in its direction. God is with you. Believe Him—and walk in His promises.
God bless you!
Pastor Janice Fareed-Hardy