“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
The Truth
Balaam speaks these words about the God of Israel to a king who wanted a curse and could not buy one. Every human promise carries an asterisk, because every human can change his mind, run out of ability, or simply decide the cost is no longer worth it. God’s word carries no asterisk. What he has said, he will do.
This is not a small point wedged into an obscure story. It is the hinge every other promise in scripture hangs on. If God could lie, even occasionally, every word of comfort in this book would need to be double-checked against his mood that day. He cannot lie, so his promises are not probabilities. They are certainties waiting to unfold.
You have likely been disappointed by people who meant well and still failed to keep their word. It is tempting to quietly file God under that same category, someone who probably means well but might not come through. Scripture is blunt here: he is not a man. Do not measure his reliability by theirs.
Take one promise of his today, specifically, and stand on it as settled fact rather than a hopeful maybe.
Live This Truth
- Name a promise from scripture you have quietly treated as a maybe.
- Write it down as settled fact: he has said it, he will do it.
- Notice today where you are tempted to measure God by human unreliability.
Prayer
Lord, I have let people’s broken promises color how I hear yours. You are not a man that you should lie. What you have said, you will do. Let me stand on that today, not hope on it. Amen.
Carry this today
His word carries no asterisk.