God always keeps His promises! He is a promise-keeper!

Have you read the story of God’s covenant promise to Abraham lately? God is a promise-keeper!! In our own years of waiting, let’s come to Him with our tearful longings, while nestling deep in His truth, in humbled awe and peace. 

Remember? Long ago, God made a covenant promise. First, He told 75-year-old Abram to leave the safety and security of his job, home, and whole life to move elsewhere. God then promised He’d make a great nation of Abram and that all the families of this earth would be blessed in him (Gen. 12:1-3).

As Abram obeyed God, sometimes his fears took over. He couldn’t see how it would be possible. The trip was challenging, with loss and danger. God graciously reminded Abram of His promise, showing him the promised land. 

Let’s lift up our eyes to Him, looking ahead by looking to the promise-keeping God, our heavenly Father.

Before the hills in order stood, 

or earth received her frame, 

from everlasting you are God, 

to endless years the same. 

(“O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” Watts, I., 1719) 

Bringing my fears and questions to the promise-keeping God when promises aren’t yet coming true

Father, Abram brought his fears and questions to You. Years continued, but he still had no son! How could Your promise come true? 

You encouraged him.

In his trust, You gave him right standing with You (Gen. 15:6). Into his fear, into his waiting, into zero evidence of Your promise fulfilled, You encouraged him as a faithful promise-keeper. 

Even though he then tried to take matters into his own hands in Genesis 16, not trusting Your timing or process, You’d already taken responsibility for keeping the whole covenant promise. You always keep Your promises.

Our God, our help in ages past, 

our hope for years to come, 

our shelter from the stormy blast, 

and our eternal home. 

Encouragement from the Promise-keeper over many years, a lifetime

After 25 years of waiting for fulfillment, You continued to encourage 99-year-old Abram. You renamed him Abraham with Your promises.

I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly…an everlasting covenant (Gen. 17:1, 7 ESV).

Isaac was finally born a year later, with Your upcoming testing of Abraham’s faith. 

God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son (Gen. 22:8 ESV).

You spared Isaac’s life after forty years of refining Abraham’s faith in You, El Shaddai, the promise-keeper. 

Once again, You promised to bless him, multiplying his offspring into countless numbers. 

And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed because you have obeyed my voice (Gen. 22:17-18 ESV).

Under the shadow of your throne,

your saints have dwelt secure… 

Faith as we suffer, given by the promise-keeping God over many years, even a lifetime

Through the faith You gave him, even when nothing made sense…

no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised. This is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:20-22 ESV).

You grew Abraham in all the hard waiting and suffering. You counted him as obedient and in right standing before You, even before giving any commandments to follow. You told him to trust You and keep going, encouraging and giving him the ability to do so. 

How does this relate to me as a Christian believer walking through years of suffering, Lord? 

A thousand ages in your sight are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun. 

Eternal promises for those in Christ from the Promise-keeper

Your promise was eternal, to all the families, all the nations. 

So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Gal. 3:9 ESV).

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one…who is Christ (Gal. 3:16 ESV).

You are a promise-keeper, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God You provided…for me.¹

Sufficient is your arm alone,

and our defense is sure. 

Your covenant promises to me, promise-keeping God, even if my suffering lasts throughout my earthly lifetime

Hallelujah to the pre-existent I AM, the promise-keeping God!

Through Jesus’ perfectly sinless life, death, and resurrection, I am now counted as righteous too, blessed as Your chosen, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, sealed, set apart, accepted, and beloved child!² 

Now and forever, I can lift up my eyes and look to You as my Father because of Jesus, my elder brother, in whom Abraham rejoiced. 

For Jesus, You alone are my righteousness, making me right with God. You are my always-with-me Savior, saying to me as I suffer, 

Our God, our help in ages past, 

our hope for years to come:

O be our guard while troubles last, 

and our eternal home. 

In Your great and glorious name, Jesus Christ, amen.

Material adapted from Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering: A Devotional Bible Study Prayer Journal, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2023

1. e.g., Leviticus 26:12; Numbers 23:19; 2 Samuel 7:28; 1 Kings 8:23; Song of Solomon 
   6:3; Micah 5:2; Zechariah 4:9-10  ↩︎
2. Romans 4:23-25; Ephesians 1 ↩︎

Pray-singing God’s promises as we bring our suffering to God

God is so lovingly guarding my heart and mind with the promises of His Word right now, as I approach another brain surgery, as scary neurological symptoms arise with current treatment. For who is He? Who am I, as His beloved daughter in Jesus Christ? Trusting His timing, His processes, His will, His plan, His help, His Word. No matter what the outcomes may be, His promises are sure, because He is a promise-keeper. 

Our Lord is graciously supplementing the new book of “Praying God’s Promises into Suffering” with songs that you and I can both sing-pray into the waiting, wondering, tears, and fears. Are you walking through something plausibly scary too? Dear sister in Christ, He’s holding us tight in His promises, as the trustworthy Promise-Keeper.

This week, we’re praising our promise-keeping God into our suffering, as those to whom He’s graciously given hope in Christ. If this would encourage you too, sign up below for these weekly playlist gifts, with my love and prayers for you.