Promises

God makes promises. And, thank God, he keeps them, every one of them. He can’t help himself: “Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—and I will not lie to David.” (Psalm 89:35) No, God will not lie to David, nor will God lie to you. Of course this psalm is specifically referring to God’s covenantal promise to King David, but it should be generally applied to God’s covenantal promise to all who are his people by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s me, and that’s you, and that’s a very good thing! Even though the people around your may fail to keep their end of the bargain, and though you may not always follow through with what you have said you would do, you can relax with God—he will always come through for you.

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 89 // Focus: Psalm 89:34

I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.

God makes promises. And he keeps them.

We ought to be grateful for that! You and I are alive today—saved, forgiven, adopted into God’s family, walking daily in an intimate relationship with Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit for good works, destined for an eternity full of unending purpose and indescribable fulfillment—only by virtue of God’s faithfulness to his promise.

The fact that God makes a promise guarantees he will keep that promise.

Yet that has not been our earthly experience, has it? We have been made promises only to have them broken. Parents, friends, teachers, bosses, politicians, preachers, and even our spouses—all have made promises, and chances are, most, if not all, have failed to deliver on their guarantees. In the realm of human relationships, our experience has taught us that a promise made is not necessarily a promise kept.

And we, ourselves, have made promises only to break them before the ink dried on our guarantee.

Not so with God. He makes covenants, and because he is a covenantly faithful God, he will do what he has promised to do. Even though we may fail him—and suffer the consequences of our failure, either through Divine punishment or natural outcomes, or both—God will stay true to his promise. (Psalm 89:30-37) God cannot help himself. Psalm 89:35 reminds us,

Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David-

No, God will not lie to David, nor will God lie to you. Of course this psalm is specifically referring to God’s covenantal promise to King David, but it should be generally applied to God’s covenantal promise to all who are his people by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s me, and that’s you, and that’s a very good thing!

So here’s the deal: Even though the people around your may fail to keep their end of the bargain, and though you may not always follow through with what you have said you would do, you can relax with God—he will always come through for you.

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Making Life Work: When was the last time you offered gratitude to God for his faithfulness to his promises? Maybe now might be a good time to do just that!

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