Characteristics of God: He keeps his promises

Every now and then, the song “Way Maker” pops into my head. There’s a good chance you know it. The chorus of the song goes something like this: “You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are…”

I often say these things and sing along with the lyrics, but I rarely check my belief in them. Is this really what I believe? Do I truly believe God makes a way, works miracles, keeps his promises, is the light in desolate places, or any other good thing in the midst of everyday life?

Sometimes, the answer is no.

Now, I’m well aware how I think and feel does not determine if God is actually all these things. While we don’t have an earthly reference for this (perhaps that is why it’s so difficult to grasp that anyone or anything could actually be unchanging and unaffected by our opinions), the psalmist reminds us that:

“They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end” (Psalm 102: 25-27).

God is everything good, perfect and holy, whether or not I believe him to be.

While we and all our problems change and fade, the Lord does not. He is not changed by time, how I think or feel about him, or by unbelief. That means he also doesn’t forget about or not keep his promises.

The Bible is filled to the brim with promises he has made, and I believe he has kept all of them. But, how do I believe he’ll keep these promises to me?

I’ve written about this in previous blogs, but I (along with the most of the world) went through some rough patches during the height of the pandemic. I came to believe the Lord didn’t want good things for me, and that he wasn’t fulfilling what I thought was his part of the bargain.

Much like the prophet Habakkuk, I was seeing injustice in my life and coming to God demanding that he wasn’t doing what he ought to.

You see, if you’ve never read Habakkuk (which I certainly encourage you to do - it’s probably my favorite book of the Bible), the overview is that the prophet is angry with God for not punishing the people of Judah in the face of their sin and unrighteousness.

Rather than ignoring or smiting Habakkuk for his complaint, God told him just what he would do. God didn’t need to be reminded of his own promises, and he certainly didn’t need to tell Habakkuk his plans. Yet, he shared those things with him.

I have so often, especially within the last three years, gone to God demanding some sort of refund or do-over. “God, I wasn’t supposed to struggle to find a job!” “God, I did everything right. Why aren’t you allowing me to do/have the things I wanted?” “God, why do I feel so alone?”

The reality is that he never dropped his part of the bargain — for me or for you. He just works differently than I want him to sometimes. But, do you know the most comforting part of all this?

God keeps his promises, even the ones I never heard him make.

God knows exactly what he will do and when he’ll do it. We aren’t owed that knowledge, but we can rest in the fact that he never goes back on the words he has said and promised within himself.

He isn’t like me. He doesn’t whisper to himself in the dark where no one can hear him, “I’ll start this thing tomorrow,” and then fail to follow through. He doesn’t need the accountability I do. He is God, and he will fulfill everything he has ever thought or said.

The book of Habakkuk is just three chapters long, and it’s a dialogue between God and Habakkuk. While the conversation starts with the prophet feeling frustrated and indignant, he is a transformed man by the end of it:

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places” (Habakkuk 3: 17-19).

God might not tell us everything he plans to do in our lives or in the world, but he will equip us for the things he is doing. Just as with Habakkuk, God changes us for the better. God doesn’t leave any of us behind — he welcomes us into what he’s doing and wants us to be part of it with him. Friend, let us follow him to his high places.