What Keeps God From Breaking His Promises?

Article Written by Pastor Phil Bray

Have you ever made a promise that you fully intended to keep but were simply unable to keep? We’ve all done it unintentionally at some point, haven’t we? We tell someone we are going to meet them for lunch, and then our car has a flat tire, or we get caught at work and miss the lunch appointment. We may protest that those are extenuating circumstances that cannot be helped, but we still broke our promise. Most people would forgive us for such a breach of trust, obviously, but the point is we made a promise that we simply did not keep—albeit that the circumstances were out of our control. But that is the point, isn’t it? The reason that we are not “faithful” in the sense that God is “faithful” is because we cannot control the circumstances of life. Oftentimes, our unfaithfulness is due to our own selfishness, but there are times when circumstances spiral out of control and promises are unintentionally broken.


You see, there are three characteristics about God that enable Him to make promises that never fail. In fact, in Joshua 21:45 we are told, “Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” What is different about God that enables Him to be faithful even when circumstances spiral out of control? Why does God never experience the frustration of telling someone He will do something, only to have extenuating circumstances or free human beings thwart His good intentions, as happens to us constantly?


God’s faithfulness is grounded in three realities about God. Number one, God is absolutely and completely sovereign over all nations, peoples, natural disasters, etc. There is nothing in all that God has created that is out of His control or ability to turn to His good purposes.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble. To whom then will you liken Me that I should be his equal?” says the Holy One. “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number; He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.” (Isa. 40:21–26)


God is in control of all that He has made. He even controls the free decisions of the nations and kings so that they are intentionally or unintentionally fulfilling all His will.
“Even from eternity I am He; and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?” (Isa. 43:13). In Isaiah 45, God appoints a man named Cyrus, who has not even been born yet, to be the king of Persia, who will then turn and deliver Israel from the hand of Babylon—who, by the way, has not even risen to power yet! Speaking of Cyrus, the Lord says,
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.” (Isa. 45:5–7)


Cyrus’ destiny was established before he was even conceived, the rise and fall of nations were determined before they ever rose to power, and all of it was to demonstrate the complete sovereignty of God over everyone and everything. God orchestrates history in order that we may know He alone is God. The point of this is simply this: God’s faithfulness to His promises can never come up short of fulfillment because of extenuating circumstances—because God controls all the circumstances! He is never surprised or caught off guard. His plans are never thwarted by unforeseen circumstances because He controls the movement of history, both great and small. So in one sense, we see that God’s faithfulness is grounded in His absolute sovereignty.


Secondly, God’s faithfulness is grounded in His inability to speak a lie.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Num. 23:19)
When God makes a promise, when God says He will do something, it is a certainty that it will take place because it is impossible for God to lie! In fact, the Scripture says that when God makes an oath or a promise, it is doubly secure—first, because He swore an oath; but secondly, because in His nature it is impossible for Him to speak anything other than truth (Heb. 6:13–18). If what He promised would happen failed to happen, then God would be a liar, and He would cease to be God. Therefore, it follows that if God, who is truth, always speaks the truth—whether it refers to past, present, or future events—it is absolutely, immutably certain! His faithfulness to His promises is therefore further grounded in His absolute truthfulness at all times. It is impossible for God to lie, so we can take great encouragement and comfort in knowing without doubt that the promises of God will come to pass. He is faithful because He is true.


Thirdly and finally, God’s faithfulness is grounded in His omnipotent power. God is completely capable of doing anything He pleases.
Psalm 115:3 says, “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”
He says in Isaiah 46:8–11,
“Remember this, and be assured; recall it to mind, you transgressors. Remember the former things long past, for I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure... Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.’”


God is powerful. When He speaks, He has the power to accomplish it. He spoke the universe into existence from nothing. He is the powerful God of creation. He is the powerful God who raises the dead and calms raging storms. He is the powerful God who parts the seas and causes unnatural plagues. He is the God who heals all manner of diseases and paralysis. He is the almighty God who can do whatever He pleases. That sheer power enables Him to do all that He promised. That power, then, functions as a ground or foundation for His faithfulness.
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God’s words never fall. He never drops even one promise. He is never outmaneuvered by extenuating circumstances or an inability to overcome said circumstances. He does not ever lie. On such a foundation of reality is the characteristic of His immutable faithfulness built. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! He is faithful, and He loves us! Think of His promises, beloved—think of His promises and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, for those promises will certainly come true!