Can God Keep His Promises?
Follows the message Jesus and the Tomb
When you're grieving or facing a hard report, you can know God's promises and still wonder whether He'll keep them this time. Yes, God keeps His promises. He did it before, and He'll do it again. Grief and bad news can cloud what you know about Him. What clears your vision is hearing His voice, the One who calls you by name.
Key takeaways
- Yes, God keeps His promises, and Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
- You can know God's promises and still doubt them because grief and hard news cloud your vision, as they did for Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb.
- James 1 calls you to ask God in faith and take Him at His word instead of swinging between His voice and the voices of culture and circumstance.
- Mary recognized Jesus the moment He said her name, and God still calls His people by name (Isaiah 43:1, John 10).
Why can you know God's promises and still doubt them?
You can doubt because pain fills your field of vision. Mary Magdalene shows how it happens. She had walked with Jesus, been set free by Him, seen His miracles, and heard Him say He would rise. Yet on resurrection morning she stood outside the empty tomb and didn't recognize Him.
She had just watched Him die. A full day had passed with the stone closed. She was so overcome by what she saw that it was almost as if she forgot what had been promised. On Beyond Sunday, Levonia Strong, Calvary's pastoral care director, and the host put it simply: what Mary had experienced clouded her vision.
You may do the same. You've experienced God's presence, maybe even a miracle in your family. Then the next trial comes, and you wonder, "God, I know You did it once, but will You do it again? I know You were there then. Are You here now?" He was there for Mary. She just didn't see Him.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
Is Jesus present even when you can't sense Him?
Yes. Jesus is present in your crisis even when grief keeps you from seeing Him. Mary was looking right at Him and thought He was someone else.
Levonia Strong described the heart of pastoral care this way: helping people see where Jesus is in their story and that He is still present. People walking through grief, hard medical reports, financial strain, or broken relationships are rightly focused on the crisis in front of them. Pastoral care is there to show them that Jesus is in the room.
If you're in that place, you don't have to find Him alone. Let someone sit with you and point you back to what is true.
What does it mean to ask God in faith without doubting?
It means taking God at His word instead of going back and forth. James describes the person who prays and then keeps second-guessing:
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
James 1:5-6
A double-minded person, in James's sense, is someone who listens to God's Word and also to the voices of culture, personal desire, and circumstance. That person keeps swinging between them. A point from the weekend message sums up the alternative: if He said it, you believe it.
The host compared double-mindedness to Peter walking on the water. Peter fixed his eyes on Jesus until he saw a wave, and then he fixed his eyes on the wave. You can't do both. When one piece of bad news follows another, like the messengers who kept arriving with bad news for Job, your eyes drift to the waves. That is where instability comes from. If your eyes are on the waves, they aren't on the One who gives peace in the storm.
How do you stay steady while you wait?
You stay steady by being patient and establishing your heart in the Lord. Levonia Strong pointed to James 5, which compares waiting on God to a farmer waiting through the seasons for a crop.
You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
James 5:8
An established heart, she said, is a heart that can't be shaken no matter what wave comes, because it is rooted in the Lord. Some seasons require waiting. Patience doesn't mean pretending things are fine. It means trusting that God is coming through on your behalf.
Even the greatest among us still tend to see the circumstance more clearly than the One who is greater than the circumstance. Thank God for His grace.
Why does it matter that God calls you by name?
It matters because His voice reminds you who you are and who He is. Mary didn't recognize Jesus by sight, or even when He first spoke to her. She knew Him the moment He said her name (John 20:16).
The host connected that moment to a promise God made long before:
But now, this is what the LORD says, he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you."
Isaiah 43:1-2
Jesus picks up the same picture in John 10. The Good Shepherd calls His own sheep by name, and they follow Him because they know His voice. They won't follow a stranger.
Plenty of voices today try to tell you who you should be. Only the One who created you, formed you, and redeemed you has the authority to name you. So can God keep His promises? He already has, and He is calling your name in the middle of whatever you are facing.
When the next wave hits
- Write down one time God came through for you. Read it again when bad news comes.
- Read Isaiah 43:1-3 out loud, putting your own name where it says Jacob and Israel.
- Notice which voices you're listening to this week, and give the most time to God's Word.
- Pray one specific request, and when doubt comes, return to what God has said instead of the wave.
- Tell one trusted person what you're facing so you don't carry it alone.
Pray
Lord, You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. When grief clouds my vision, call my name. Lift my eyes off the waves and back to You. Establish my heart so I can wait with patience and trust You to keep Your word. Amen.
Common questions
Why didn't Mary recognize Jesus at the tomb?
John 20 shows Mary overwhelmed with grief, looking for His body. She didn't recognize Him by sight or at His first words, but she knew Him the moment He called her name.
How can I trust God's promises when I'm grieving?
Remember what He has already done, keep your eyes on Him rather than the waves, and let others walk with you. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He is present even when you can't sense Him.
What does James mean by a double-minded person?
James describes someone who asks God for help but keeps doubting, tossed back and forth like a wave. He urges you to ask in faith and take God at His word.
What does it mean that God calls us by name?
In Isaiah 43 and John 10, being called by name means being known, redeemed, and belonging to God. It reminds you who you are and who He is.
Your next step
If you're walking through grief or a hard season, our pastoral care team would be honored to walk with you. Reach out for care.