The Power of a Promise

By Rachel Hammett

“But he promised,” she whispered. “I know he’s going to come.”

There are few things as sweet as a little girl’s trust in her loving father. When she has a daddy who has cared for her and is extra careful to always tell the truth and always keep his promises, in her mind, there is nothing her daddy cannot do. She doesn’t understand that even fathers have limitations. He might make a promise, and circumstances out of his control would prevent him from keeping that promise, no matter how he tried. That is the limitation of being only human.

My Heavenly Father has made a promise. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5) Unlike earthly fathers, my Heavenly Father has no limitations. What He promises, He will do. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Just as a little girl who fully trusts her father has peace and assurance in his character to fulfill promises and the fact that he has always fulfilled them in the past, so the child of God can have peace in His promises. We can search out His character, as well as view His track record through the ages, and see that He has never once forgotten a promise. This is the kind of God we serve!

We do not have removed god; we have a God who is very interested in all the workings and problems of our life. We do not have a fatalistic god; we have a God who wants us to respond and make the right decisions so that He can work His perfect will in our life. We do not have a god who delights in our misfortune, laughs at our calamity, or mocks at our confusion; we have a God who is so concerned with our infirmities, that He “maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

Every little girl is going to one day find out that her father is only human. There will come a time when she will realize (probably sooner rather than later) that he cannot always keep his promises, and he will make mistakes. Yet the power of a promise from your Heavenly Father is that He never fails, He always keeps His word, just as He has forever!