Text:
God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT.
Thought:
At long last we are settling into our new home after the sale of our previous house took nearly 12 months to complete. We had been let down by the promises of a prospective buyer who couldn’t deliver on what they had said.
Now there was the small matter of having a phone line and Broadband installed. Our initial order with a network provider was met with an installation date for 5 weeks later! No amount of negotiation could bring it forward. It was frustrating sitting in the car on a cold, wet, windy day trying to pick up a WiFi signal in order to deal with urgent emails. We just had to wait!
As that day neared, emails and texts began to arrive, “The engineer is coming”. Sure enough, on the set day he arrived but he was quickly gone, announcing there was a fault on the line and he did not have the equipment to rectify it. He left promising that it would be quickly resolved. Several days and phone calls later, an engineer turned up unannounced. Our hopes soared and then were dashed as he informed us about another fault on the line. There was the promise made that someone would call the next day to complete everything. Of course, no one did and then we were informed that the next date for completion would be in another 2 weeks. A straight-talking phone call to a manager resulted in a firm promise that the engineer would return in 2 days. Cancelling a planned family engagement we again waited. No one turned up! Letters, phone calls, anger, upset and frustration all caused by lies and broken promises. We await the next deadline for completion with no real assurance that it will be completed.
So what encouragement can we take from this scripture that God does not lie but keeps the promises He makes?
1. God can do anything and everything
It’s impossible for God to make a promise to do something and not be able to fulfil it. There are some amazing promises in the Bible but God is fully able to keep the promises he makes.
2. God always and only tells us the truth
He does not lie. Another scripture declares, ‘In which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation..’ – Hebrews 6:18. Jesus said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ – John 14:6.
3. God has every intention of backing up His promises with action
‘So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void (empty, without fruit), but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it’ – Isaiah 55:11.
4. We can have every confidence in what the Bible says
God wants us to trust His word and take steps of faith. God’s word works in the lives of those who believe it. Many say, “I tried it but it didn’t work!” Others refuse to let go of God’s promises until they see them being fulfilled. God said it, I believe it, that settles it!
Don’t let the broken promises of man influence your faith in the living God. We often say, “I give you my word.” Well, God has too, His Son Jesus, called the Word of God – John 1:1. Another scripture promises, ‘He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?’ – Romans 8:32. God’s word never changes, it’s eternal. When He speaks to you from it, it’s just as if He’s saying it to you for the first time. He stands by it and will honour your faith. Let’s honour the Lord by declaring, “Lord, I believe! Let it be to me according to your word.”
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