I Promise!

Have you ever trusted a friend and then found out they were not trustworthy? Maybe you confided in them, spilling your guts about something personal. And, even though your friend promised to keep it to themselves, they didn’t. When someone has broken the trust of another, it’s a serious problem that can damage and even destroy relationships. Some people never get over the hurt broken trust has caused them. Another unfortunate consequence of broken trust is that we tend to view our relationship with God like we view our relationship with friends and family who have mistreated us. People have broken our trust; therefore, we think, *Maybe God is the same way.* In Genesis 18, God promised Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they would become parents, but Sarah didn’t believe Him. After all, Sarah was ninety, and Abraham was one hundred. Surely God meant well; perhaps Sarah thought God was like some of her friends, who just wanted to say the right thing but ultimately weren’t reliable. But, in verse 14, God makes it clear He keeps His promises: Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son. A year later, guess who had a son? It’s important to learn to separate how people sometimes act from how God always acts. We live in a broken world, and we as humans are broken and sinful. But, no matter what betrayal we have faced from others, we can know God is trustworthy and faithful. Susan Grant Why is trust so important in relationships? All the promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). How is God’s promise to create life from Sarah’s dead womb reminiscent of His promise to raise His people from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)? God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Genesis 18:10-15; 21:1-3; Hebrews 11:11