God compiles a remarkable résumé in the pages of Scripture—not just for His own glory, but for our benefit as well. Time and time again, He proves Himself to be faithful. He honors His Word. He fulfills the terms of His covenants.
God Comes Through Even When It Seems Impossible
God proved Himself faithful to Abram (Abraham) and his descendants. Genesis 12 records the covenant God made with Abram. He instructed Abram to leave his homeland of Ur for a new land—a land called Canaan, where Abram and his descendants would dwell. Descendants were part of the covenant, too—a nation of descendants as innumerable as the stars in the night sky (Genesis 15:5).
Abram and his wife Sarai (Sarah) were childless at the time. Abram was 75 years old. Yet Abram took God at His word and moved his household to Canaan. Twenty-five years passed.
During that period, Abraham and Sarah lost sight of God’s timetable and concocted a plan whereby Abraham would father a son (who was given the name Ishmael) with Sarah’s handmaid. They convinced themselves that it was the only way for God’s covenant to be fulfilled.
And then Sarah became pregnant.
She was 90 years old. Abraham was 100.
They named their son Isaac. Isaac later fathered a son named Jacob, also known as Israel. Jacob, in turn, fathered 12 sons—and a nation was born.
Abraham learned that God’s faithfulness isn’t bound by time or the laws of nature.
God Comes Through Even When His People Don’t
Abraham’s descendants—the nation of Israel—proved themselves to be anything but faithful. They turned their backs on God and embraced idols. They rejected His kingship and demanded human rulers. They abandoned His teachings and forgot the stories of His great works.
Through it all, though, God remained faithful. He sent prophets to warn them of the dire consequences of their disobedience. When the people wouldn’t listen, He allowed their enemies to conquer them and carry them away into captivity.
Even at that point—arguably, Israel’s lowest—God would not give up on Abraham’s descendants. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
God Comes Through Even When It Costs Him Dearly
God’s faithfulness didn’t stop there. Passages such as Isaiah 49:5-6 reveal the extent of His love for His people—and for all people. Through His prophet Isaiah, God promised to send a Savior, One who would “restore the preserved ones of Israel,” serve as a “light to the Gentiles,” and bring God’s “salvation to the ends of the earth.” He fulfilled His promise centuries later by sacrificing His only Son to pay the price for sin—faithful beyond measure.
Malachi 3:16 assures us that God doesn’t change. He is still faithful to His people. So there is always hope to be found, no matter how bleak things may seem. We may not know what that hope will look like, when to expect it, or how it will change our circumstances, but we can put our trust in a faithful God.
This commentary is from the New King James Study Bible. With more than 2 million copies sold, it’s no secret that the NKJV Study Bible is a reliable guide for your journey into God’s Word. This Bible provides a complete resource for study, including thousands of notes, articles, extensive cross-references, and features contributed by top evangelical scholars.
