God Never Breaks His Promises
Let’s return to our series on the negatives in the Bible. A few weeks back, we discussed several occurrences of the word “nothing” in the Scriptures. Now, let’s look at the word, “never.” I want to begin with one of my favorites—God never breaks His promises.
“And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.”
Now, I realize this is a message for the nation of Israel, but it sets forth the example of God’s faithfulness to all of His children. And if you doubt this promise applies to us today, here’s what Peter has to say to the church:
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ”
The phraseology is different, but the message is the same: God is true to His Word. If He said it, we can count on it. He promised He would send the Messiah to be born, and it happened. He promised He would defeat death and hell, and He did. He promised us eternal life, and we have it. He promised He would come back again to gather up His children to take us to our rightful home, and He will. Every promise either has been or will be fulfilled. He doesn’t break a single one.
I’ve probably shared this with you before, but it fits here, so I’ll share it again. One of my pet peeves (yes, I have many) with television shows and movies is when a character promises something he or she may not be able to fulfill. Like when the young man is heading off to war, and he promises his new bride, “I’ll be back. I promise.” How can he guarantee that? He has no idea what the future holds. And nine times out of ten in those Hollywood occurrences, he doesn’t make it back. What a letdown!
Parents promise things to their kids, knowing full well they have no means to see it through. Employers make promises to their employees. People even make promises to God, usually with no intention of keeping those promises but rather to get what they want from God. Promises are flying around like leaves on an autumn day, but what do they amount to? Typically, false hope, nothing more. Is it strange that I often call out to the television characters, “You can’t promise that”? I guess I know all too well what a broken promise feels like and how devastated it can leave a person.
Fortunately, with God, we never have to worry about that. He won’t disappoint us by going back on His word. Things may not happen how or when we expect, but if He’s made a promise, we can count on it. God never, ever breaks His promises!
“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. ”