And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and theLORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. Genesis 21:1-2 NKJV
God is always faithful to His promises. His word is absolute truth, so we can invariably be assured that, just like we are told in Isaiah 55:10-11, God will not see His word return to Him void when He sends it out to achieve important purposes in our lives: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Have you given up hope in a promise that God has made to you because you have not yet seen its fulfillment?
Abraham waited over thirteen years from the time the LORD his God first promised him that he would have a son to his wife Sarah until the birth of that son, Isaac. Most would not believe that this was possible for them in their advanced age; in truth, both Sarah and her husband laughed when God told Abraham that He would later return to them and Sarah would bear them a son.
However, the LORD God does not lie, nor can He do so; for it is not in His character to be dishonest. Almighty God not only tells the truth, He is the truth: If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 Amplified Bible)
Again, this is revealed to be so in John 3:33: Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal of approval to this: God is true. [That man has definitely certified, acknowledged, declared once and for all, and is himself assured that it is divine truth that God cannot lie]. (Amplified Bible)
So we can always count on God’s word to be completely pure and trustworthy, no matter how long it may take to see His promises fulfilled in our lives. What is most important for us to realize is that the timing of the LORD never fails to be perfect. In addition, because He is omniscient and can see infinitely far into the future – and we, obviously, cannot – we are wise to place our trust in Him, knowing that His ability to judge what is best for us is so much better than our own.
The LORD our God will never let us down. Yet, sometimes we ask for things that are not in our best interests; or, we make a request that, if it were to be granted at that specific time, would be hurtful to us or to someone else. So the LORD, in His infinite love and wisdom, says, “No,” or He tells us we must wait. Unfortunately, when we do not trust in Him, we can interpret this response, this failure to meet our desire for immediate gratification, as a sign that God does not care for us. In our disappointment, we falsely believe that Jesus does not love us, or that He has abandoned us.
However, if we are willing to align our faith with the Bible, with the written word of God, instead of running with our emotions and impatiently demanding to have our own way, we will soon become grounded in the truth of the Father’s faithful love in Christ Jesus and His devotion to never leave us or forsake us.
Let’s listen with all our hearts to the following verses and drink deeply of our Father’s tender loving-care for us:
- Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands. Isaiah 49:15-16 Amplified Bible
Again:
- For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed,’ says the Lord, Who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 Amplified Bible
And, lastly:
- He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] Hebrews 13:5 Amplified Bible
May we respond with gratitude, hope, and deep-seated faith to these promises from our merciful and gracious God, declaring in agreement with Hebrews 13:6, So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, ‘The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?'” (Amplified Bible)
Lord Jesus, we come before You, asking that You grant us confidence and immovable hope in the promises You give us in Your Word of Truth, the Bible. May we be assured that You never can and never will lie to us, and that You desire only the best for us, O God. When we do see painful things happen in and around us, O LORD, may we have the bold faith to state with assurance the words given to the apostle Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. We thank You, Lord Jesus, that we have been called according to Your good purpose, and we declare our love for You, even as we thank You for Your amazing love for us. We pray these things in Your holy name, Christ Jesus, amen.
Questions: Do you have difficulty believing that God will fulfill His promises in your life? Why or why not? Which of His promises have you seen God faithfully bring to fruition? What biblical promises are you claiming for yourself or a loved one at this time?