Day 15: The God Who Cannot Lie

Bible passage: Numbers 23:19; Psalm 33:11–12; Genesis 12:1–3; Hebrews 13:8; 1 Corinthians 15:58

A Word You Can Stand On

Today is Friday 12th of April 2019. Welcome to Day 15 of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. One week from today is Good Friday. As we begin the final week of our fast, we look at the God who keeps His word.

All of us have been let down by a broken promise, and all of us have broken some. It can make us slow to trust anybody. So we need to hear this. God is not a man, so He does not lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act? “Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19 (NLT)

The God Who Keeps His Word

An Unlikely Witness

Those words were spoken by Balaam, a prophet who had been hired to curse Israel. He found that he could not do it. God had blessed His people, and nothing was going to reverse it. Even an enemy had to admit that God’s word stands.

Plans That Stand Firm

The psalmist says the same. The Lord’s plans stand firm for ever, and His intentions can never be shaken (Psalm 33:11). Human plans change with the weather. Governments come and go. What God has purposed will happen.

A Promise Kept Across Centuries

Look at one example. God told Abram to leave his country and go to a land that He would show him. He promised to make him into a great nation, and said that all the families on earth would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:1–3).

When God said that, Abram was an old man with no children. It took two thousand years for the promise to reach its fulfilment, when Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, died and rose again for people of every nation. Next week we will remember that God kept His word at the cost of His own Son.

The Same Today

Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and for ever (Hebrews 13:8). He will not be in a different mood tomorrow. What He has said to you, He still means.

Standing Firm

Nothing Wasted

Paul draws a practical conclusion at the end of his great chapter on the resurrection. Because these things are true, we are to be strong and immovable. We are always to work enthusiastically for the Lord, because we know that nothing we do for Him is ever useless (1 Corinthians 15:58).

If God keeps His word, then the unseen things we do for Him are not wasted: the prayers, the kindnesses, the work that goes unthanked. He has said that they count.

Three Steps for Today

  • Praise Him. Thank God that He never wavers and never changes.

  • Remember a promise. Which promise of God do you most easily forget when life is hard? Write it where you will see it.

  • Keep going. Is there something you do for the Lord that feels pointless at the moment? Offer it to Him again today.

Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You that You are not like us. You do not lie, and You do not change Your mind. Everything You have promised, You will do. Thank You that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and for ever. Help me never to forget Your promises. Make me strong and immovable, and keep me working gladly for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Keep going

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Day 16: The Work of His Hands

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Day 14: Jesus Wept