When Broken Promises Seem Endless

Though changes in our lives feel unending, and we encounter let downs and disappointments, it makes all the difference in the world that our hope in Jesus is secure.

Click here to listen to this devotional written and narrated by Susan Davidson.

Do you ever wonder if anyone keeps their word these days? Do you feel disappointed when people don’t follow through as promised? Recently, I felt the sting of several broken promises and disappointments. I learned the best way to process them was to take them to God in prayer.

After a lengthy wait and a call to customer service, the company finally scheduled a delivery date for my order. I counted down the days to receive my item with much anticipation. Unfortunately, the company did not keep its promise, and my package arrived a week later than promised. That disappointment was an addition to an extensive list that left me feeling let down and discouraged. I asked, “Is there anyone I can count on to keep their word and follow through as promised?”

So many things can feel like letdowns. The goals we work so hard to bring to fruition get put off or deterred. We place our best-laid plans into a tidy box. But then, the unexpected rushes through like an angry burst of wind and blows the lid off all our expectations, scattering them into complete disarray.

The people we think we can count on prove unreliable. They make promises they don’t keep, and we wonder if they care. Family becomes like strangers, and friends reject us.

Life in this broken world can bring us to the same conclusion as Solomon. In Ecclesiastes 1:2, he described life as “Absolute futility. Everything is futile.” In his wisdom, Solomon knew we would need more than this broken world offers to bring us lasting joy, true happiness, and peace.

Times like these leave our hearts longing for something stable to cling to. We yearn for a solid, reliable place to plant our hopes and dreams that won’t disappoint. Knowing that place exists reassures us, especially on our most challenging days.

In that safe place, new wine and fresh oil are always available.  Here, God serves fresh bread daily, and abundant living water flows. Our Holy Server never fails or disappoints us, and He always knows the precise words to minister to our weary hearts—a place called the Table of God.

Here, in God’s presence, our hearts find a safe place to fall. When the world feels unsure and unsteady, we can trust in God’s steadfastness. He remains our constant anchor amid life’s uncertainties; He is always present and has time for us.

Lamentations 3:21-22 (ESV) reminds us of His great love, a love that cannot fail us:

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”

So, let us remember and never forget all God has promised us.

•             His Grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 13:9).

•             His Mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

•             He will be a friend who always sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

•             He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

•             His word is forever a light unto our path, so we never wander in darkness (Psalm 119:105).

In a world where people let us down, it is good to remind ourselves that God never will. We always find Him faithful. Though changes in our lives feel unending, and we encounter let downs and disappointments, it makes all the difference in the world that our hope in Jesus is secure.

His timing to do good for us is always perfect. The world may let us down, and even loved ones may abandon us, but God will never disappoint those He calls His own. Even though the world may pass away, God’s word will remain sure and steadfast forever.

As I took my disappointments and failed promises to God in prayer and spent time in His Word, my heart felt lighter, and my melancholy mood lifted. It was exactly what I needed to remember that we serve a God whose love is steadfast, and He never makes a promise He can’t keep.

“What about you? How can you take your disappointments to God and find solace in His steadfast love and unchanging promises?”

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