“For no word from God will ever fail.” (Luke 1:37, NIV)
I’ve never been one to like promises. A promise produces a reason to get your hopes up, and I hate to be let down. Our inherent imperfections are a constant reminder our promises can and will fail.
Who has the true authority to not only make promises but keep them? Who has the intel to know what promises to make, who will receive the promise, and even when? Who can make a promise with full knowledge it can be fulfilled?
God can.
Jackie Hill-Perry, author, poet, and Bible teacher, wrote a profound book, Holier Than Thou. The book’s premise portrays how God’s holiness allows us to trust him. Since he is holy, he can’t sin. This means he is perfect. For promises to be consistently fulfilled requires them to originate from a perfect source. God is perfect and is the only true promise keeper.
In the first chapter of the book of Luke, we read about Mary, who was married to Joseph. God highly favored Mary. God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Mary she would conceive and give birth to a son named Jesus. Mary was perplexed by this news because she was a virgin. Not only did she receive a promise, but she received a promise that was difficult for her human mind to believe could ever happen.
Gabriel assured her, saying, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the holy one to be born will be called the son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:35-37, NIV).
No word from God will ever fail. Let that sink in.
After Gabriel, the angel, left, Mary quickly visited a town in Judea to visit her relative, Elizabeth. As she greeted her, Elizabeth’s baby, John, leaped for joy inside her womb. Elizabeth said, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her” (Luke 1:45, NIV).
We must believe in the promises of God because his very nature is absolute perfection, causing every word he utters to prevail in the proper timing—not a minute too late or a minute too soon.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your promises that you have spoken specifically to me and even those I read about in your word. I must admit, sometimes I lack the faith to believe that your promises will prevail. Give me a mind that believes. Allow me to see you for who you are and that your words will never fail in your perfection. Amen.
Your Turn: Have you ever struggled with believing that God makes promises and keeps them? What led to this?