The Promise Keeper
“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.”(1 Kings 8:24)
Do you believe God is a promise keeper?
God promises if we trust in him he will direct our paths.
He promises he will be with us until the end of the age.
He promises us we are his children.
He promises his love to us.
God’s promises never fail, but sometimes we fail him when we don’t trust his promises.
The prophet Jeremiah’s life is an example of a promise kept.
Jeremiah was commissioned by God to speak truth to the people of Israel, truth the Israelites really didn’t want to hear. They had placed thousands of other gods before the one true God and God wanted Jeremiah to warn them they would be carried off into captivity by the Babylonians if they did not repent.
Jeremiah didn’t want to deliver this message for a number of reasons. He was very young when he was first called. He also knew there’d be opposition, and his words would not make him a popular guy. God promises Jeremiah, “’They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.”
In the course of his discourse, Jeremiah’s life was threatened, he was thrown in a dungeon and lowered into a muddy cistern. Through each trial, Jeremiah never forgot that God promised he would rescue him.
Do you wonder if Jeremiah finally questioned the promise as he was chained and being led off to captivity in Babylon with the rest of the Israelites? Why wouldn’t he begin to doubt?
But there’s no evidence he did. Then King Nebuchadnezzar himself told the commander of his imperial guard to find Jeremiah and release him. Jeremiah was told he was free to do whatever he wanted.
God kept his promise to Jeremiah and rescued him from captivity.
Sometimes when we are in the thick of difficult situations, we start to doubt God’s promises. We have to remember if we have God in his rightful place in our lives, God is a promise keeper, no matter how bleak it might look.
When we doubt, we should go back to his Word and remind ourselves of the promises, then trust God will not fail us.
From the words of the prophet Jeremiah, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)