Why Believe in Promises?

We may have first heard about promises when a childhood playmate said we must “promise not to tell” before sharing a secret with us. Sadly, we also discover early in life that promises are usually broken.

The “cost” of making a promise is very small, requiring just the utterance of two words: “I promise.” But I remember finding out on the schoolyard that simply saying the words “I promise” was not always good enough. A childhood promise apparently needed an additional promise to make it good. More than once, I was unsettled when told to add, “Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” Visualizing the grisly image portrayed, I decided I no longer wanted to hear the secret. It wasn’t worth having to stick a needle in my eye, much less the prospect of dying.

Promises are important! As we grow older and learn about life, we find that promises come in many forms. There are guarantees, warranties, promissory notes, vows, agreements, and contracts full of “fine print” legalese and loopholes. To lend credibility, some promises are printed on legal paper with notarized signatures, official stamps, and seals, then filed in offices in mammoth buildings with sturdy vaults. Manufacturers add terms like “iron-clad” to a guarantee to induce us to believe their promise.

We may learn that a warranty on a product includes legal “mumbo-jumbo” about “parties of the first part,” explaining why it isn’t really warranted to “parties of the second part.” A “guarantee” may not really be a guarantee. A peace treaty may not be worth the paper it was written upon. The same is true of other agreements, vows, oaths, and pledges.

But a failed promise is a lie, and a broken promise is worthless. Is it any wonder that experienced customers do not believe promises until they read the fine print, rather than believe advertising at face value? Experiencing just one failed promise can make a person distrustful of every promise.

The One We Can Count On

The words “I promise” are so misused that they often seem meaningless! My apologies to all honest used-car salesmen and politicians—but, surely, they recognize that most people don’t trust them or their promises. Many people have become suspicious, jaded. There are even picturesque ways to express our disbelief in the trustworthiness of promises, such as “If you believe that, I have some waterfront property I want to sell you,” or “I trust them about as far as I can throw them.” Talk about a credibility gap!

Why does the word “promise” often mean so little? The answer is that Satan, the ruler of this world, is a liar! He is the father of lies and has deceived the whole world (Revelation 12:9). It is no wonder that guarantees, warranties, contracts, and promises are little trusted today—and it is no wonder that, when people read God’s promises in the Bible, they are skeptical. They have been “programmed” to be so. Satan does not want mankind to believe what God has promised.

But God’s word is true, and His promises are sure and absolute. We must not let Satan influence our thinking about the promises of the Almighty God, who has made wonderful promises to those who trust and obey Him.

How wonderful it is when we come to understand that God’s promises are truly unbreakable! A child understands that “a promise is a promise.” It is that simple. And when God makes a promise, it is rock solid—no needles required!

You can learn more by reading our free study guides The Real God: Proofs and Promises and The Bible: Fact or Fiction? They can be read or ordered right here at TomorrowsWorld.org.