Indeed, God never breaks his word. Genesis 3:15 contains the very first promise that God made to humanity. “I will sow discord between you and her, and between your descendants and her descendants; you will bruise his heel, and he will bruise your head.” This is what God said to Satan, and Jesus Christ, who has come to destroy the works of the devil, is referred to as the offspring of the woman (1 John 3:8). This has been fulfilled! When Jesus died on the cross, Satan was vanquished (Hebrews 2:14).
Promises to Abraham
Abraham received promises from God as well (Genesis 12:2-3). He assured Abraham that he would father a magnificent country. However, Abraham had already reached the age of 75 and was still childless at that point. After he turned 100 years old and his wife Sarah was 90, he had to wait a another 25 years for the promised baby to arrive. As stated in the book of Hebrews, “And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise” (Hebrews 11:11), Sarah was able to become a mother. This illustration demonstrates how God never forgets his promises, even when He chooses to postpone fulfilling them.
Promises to the people of Israel
The Promised Land will be revealed to the Israelites, as God had promised. Genesis 15:18–21 records the promise’s initial giving to Abraham, while Genesis 28:13 records its subsequent renewal to Isaac and Jacob. Years later, God led the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob out of the Egyptians and into the Promised Land, demonstrating that he had kept his word (Deuteronomy 1:8).
The Psalms and other Bible books contain numerous verses that attest to [God’s faithfulness] (Psalm 98:3, 108:4, 145:13 and many others). Take Psalm 108:4, for instance: “Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds, and your steadfast love is great above the heavens.”
Promises for today
Even for the people of today, God has promises. As stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” Jesus guarantees that anybody who believes in him will be rescued from damnation. This is a beautiful promise, and we have complete faith that God will fulfill it! This well-known verse from John also demonstrates for us how we are to react to God’s promise: we are to believe and put our faith in Him.
Warning against unbelief
A warning against unbelief is found in the book of Hebrews (Hebrews 3:7–8). Because they did not believe that God would grant them the Promised Land, an entire generation of Israelites was prevented from entering there. The Land was given to their offspring after they were forced to roam the desert until they passed away (Hebrews 3:16-19). Let us respond in confidence and place our trust in God, who offers us eternal peace in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:14)!
