God’s Timeless Promises

“God never made a promise that was too good to be true.”  D.L.Moody

In a world that showers us with lies, whether it’s politicians, advertising or perhaps people closer to home, it’s no wonder we can become cynical and struggle to take God’s Word at face value.

It is important to remember Satan speaks in lies and half-truths. John 8:44 says,

“When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (AMP)

And this world is currently dominated by him.

“Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.” 2 Cor: 4:4 (NLT)

Humanity is guaranteed to let us down and disappoint us, but it is imperative that we understand that God will never fail us as long as we put our trust in Him.

I’m not saying we can’t put our trust in people. What I’m saying is we can’t make them our anchor.  People will, without a doubt, fail and disappoint us because we’re human. It’s in our nature, it’s in our humanity, we’re not perfect.

But God will never fail us. Failure and disappointment are not part of His nature.  

“God’s my strong champion;
    I flick off my enemies like flies.
Far better to take refuge in God
    than trust in people;
Far better to take refuge in God
    than trust in celebrities.”
Psalm 118:5 (MSG)

What Is God’s Nature? 

There are hundreds of names for God in the Bible and each one displays His nature, but let me just highlight a few of them that will  demonstrate that God will never fail you.  We have already looked at the fact that God is Love (1 John 4:8), it’s the very essence of who He is.  

God is “Abba” meaning “Father” or “Daddy” (Rom 8:15). Whether you had a positive or negative experience with your earthly father, we must understand that God is a good, good Father.

He is our Shepherd. Scripture is full of verses speaking of God’s reassurance and guidance. One of the most famous being Psalm 23.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, 
he leads me beside quiet waters, 
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.  
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me; 
your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

He is also Peace (Isaiah 9:6), He is Healer (Psalm 103:3), He is Provider (Gen 22:14), He is Righteousness (Jer 23:6), He is Helper (John 14:26), He is Life and Truth (John 14:6) and the list goes on…

He Cannot Lie

God’s native language is truth, His nature will not allow Him to lie. Even if God said the grass is blue, the grass would turn from green to blue because He can not lie. Take a look at the following scriptures;

“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)

^“This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.” Titus 1:2 (NLT)

Once we embrace the very nature of God and who He is, then we can really grab hold of His promises and step into His fullness and our destiny.

4 Key Timeless Promises

In Exodus 6:6-7 we see that God reminded the Israelites, who were currently enslaved by the Egyptians, exactly who He is…

“I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.”

From this scripture we can draw out 4 of God’s timeless promises for our lives today.  Promises which I believe are key to stepping into our God-given destiny.

1. He promised to bring the Israelites out of bondage – that’s salvation. 
2. He promised to free them from being slaves – that’s freedom.
3. He promised to redeemed them – that’s restoration.
4. He promised to take them as His own people – that’s destiny.

We are going to look at each of these promises over the course of this book and discover why many of us don’t fully embrace them.

Salvation: Out Of Bondage

When we say “yes” to Jesus, acknowledging that He died for our sin, we get saved, or “born again”.  That is, our spirit (that part of us that is like God) becomes alive and responsive to God.  But that’s just the first part of the process. 

When your spirit comes alive, your soul and body may still carry “excess baggage” from the life lived before salvation. While your spirit may have received immediate and full salvation, your body and soul may very well take a lot longer to catch up! I think this is where many Christians get stuck.  They are saved but they are not yet fully free.

To take hold of everything God has for us, it’s important to recognise Jesus’s death on the cross did not just bring us salvation, a ticket to heaven.  It brings with it freedom, restoration and destiny for our whole lives. 

If we are to enter into this partnership God desires us to be a part of, then we need to embrace this process to step into the fullness that Jesus paid such a high price to give us.

This is why Phil 2:12-13 tell us to 

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (NKJV)

Salvation is instant but freedom is up to you. You have to work through this process with God.  He has given you all the ingredients and the method in scripture, but you have to process it, follow through and obey each instruction.