03302025 Promises

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our God who makes promises. I was driving yesterday morning just after sunrise, and I saw a rare morning rainbow. Its bright and bold colors were contrasted against the clouds behind them, and it was a beautiful sight.

Of course, the rainbow reminded me of God’s promise that He would never again destroy the entire earth with a flood, but my thoughts went broader than that. It made me thankful that I have a God who makes promises to His people. That means He is not a detached, distant power; He is a God who is involved in the lives of His people. What is a promise? It is a commitment regarding future action.

What type of promises does God make? Think of what He promised to His people in the Bible – either individuals or as a nation. He promised children, land, material blessings, inheritances, protection, deliverance. I think we can safely say that God’s promises are evidences of His love, care, compassion, and goodness. He promises good things because He loves us and wants to take care of us.

God made a lot of promises in the Old Testament, and many of them were for specific individuals or groups. While those promises often display the consistent inclination of God toward His people of all ages, we can’t really claim personally those specific promises as our own.

What promises do God’s people have today? There are still plenty of them recorded in the Bible. Here is one of the best. When Jesus spoke of heaven, He told His disciples, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

This is a wonderful commitment regarding future action. Christians have clung hopefully to this promise ever since Jesus spoke the words. This promise encourages us to live on through the challenges of life, knowing that what we have now is temporary. It will be replaced and obliterated by a wonderful eternity.

But what about until then? Do we have promises that apply to the meanwhile? Another one of the best: “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). No matter what happens in this life, God is with us. The Bible’s frequent application of that truth is that we need not fear. If He is with us, He knows our situation. He knows how we are handling it. He knows what we need. He is able to sustain and deliver.

No, we can’t be assured that God will give us children, possessions, and some of the other promises He made to individuals in the Bible. But we can be assured that we serve a good God who makes good promises to us. These promises reflect His desire to interact with us. They reflect His care and love and goodness.

Finally, we must not forget that God is not like people. He does not make empty promises just to make us feel better in the moment. Neither does He make well-intentioned promises that He forgets about or cannot keep. When God makes a promise, He means it and He keeps it. Thank God for His “exceeding great and precious promises,” promises that through Christ are “yea” and “Amen.” God cannot lie, and if He has promised it, He will perform it.

May God strengthen and encourage you as you serve Him this week.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA