He’s Never Gonna Let Us Down

May 17, 2023 Ken Winter

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We live in stormy times. Our world can be a very distressing place. We can easily become overwhelmed or defeated. Our news feeds are filled with reports of the ravages of disease, the havoc of disasters, and the inhumanity and incivility of man. Within a matter of moments, our lives can be upended into a cascading turmoil by sudden loss, distressing news, or tragic circumstances.

Where are we to turn? Our God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us . . . no matter what we face. He will never abandon us. He will never fail to keep His promises. He’s never gonna let us down!

We read in the book of Joshua, “Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true.”(1) The psalmist David writes that every one of God’s promises is backed by all the honor of His Name.(2) With God, it is an all or nothing deal. Either He is worthy of all honor, or He is worthy of none. Either every promise He makes is trustworthy and true, or not one of them is. God is not a man that He should lie(3) and therefore there is no promise He can make that He cannot – and will not – fulfill.

David also wrote, “The LORD’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.”(4) Every element of God’s promise is without error and without exaggeration. God never “hopes” to fulfill a promise. It is His guarantee. Because the moment He gave us His promise, it was and is a proven statement. Every word of God is faithful and true, and “His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”(5) We can stand on His every promise; it is a firm foundation. We can stand behind His every promise; it is our armor and protection. We can stand before His every promise; it is our hope and our confidence.

Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled.(1) He gave the Israelites all the land He had sworn to give them four hundred eighty years earlier. Throughout all of that time, the land had changed possession from tribe to tribe, but God’s promise had never changed. The seashores had changed with the tide; the mountaintops had changed with the wear and tear of the climate. But God’s promise never changed. And He had given them all the land.

He enabled them to take possession of the land. He didn’t just give them a promise and then leave it to their own devices to formulate a plan on how to bring it about. That would be a lame promise, wouldn’t it? It would be like me promising you a million dollars, taking you to the front door of the bank, pointing to the safe, and saying, “There it is, now go take it!” Well, not really – it wouldn’t have been mine to give you in the first place! But you know what i mean. His promise includes the means of fulfillment. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a promise.

i am convinced that we, as His people, miss out on many of His promises because we are detracted from Him and His promise as we try to figure out our own way to achieve it. The Israelites’ journey to the Promised Land is a prime example. A journey that should have taken eleven days took forty years because the Israelites lost sight of God’s promise. In their faithlessness, they chose to go about it in their own way, and a generation perished without seeing its fulfillment.

He enabled them to settle in the Promised Land, and experience rest on every side. It was rest from their travels, rest from the insults of their enemies, and rest from their battles. It wouldn’t be rest absent from work. There was still much work to be done. But the work to be done would be done effectively and productively without worry and weariness. Work accomplished through “resting” in the LORD. That’s the picture of “abiding” that Jesus speaks of in John 15.(6) Producing fruit that bears more fruit, knowing that He is the Vine and we are the branches.

He kept all of their enemies from standing against them. Paul writes, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”(7) Time and again we see throughout the battles recorded in Joshua that their enemies did not fear because of Joshua’s leadership ability or the Israelites’ fighting ability; it was the presence and power of the Lord God Jehovah. Which of these would we desire to have our enemies – or those around us – see today – our abilities, or the presence and power of our God? Which would they say they see as they look at the actions and attitudes of our lives?

He conquered all of their enemies. Yes, there were Canaanites that remained to be fought another day. He had told the people that He would not drive out their enemies all at once; He would drive them out “a little at a time.”(8) But, in the meantime, God stayed the Canaanites’ hand by causing them to lack the strength or spirit to attack the Israelites, and therefore they did not give the Israelites cause for concern. But having said that, God did not do that to give license to the Israelites to ignore their enemies. Rather, they were still to be diligent about their work.

He fulfilled every promise – not one was excluded – everything He had spoken came true. That was true for the Israelites, and that is true for you and me. Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”(9) No part of that promise – or any promise – will remain unfulfilled. “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”(10)

This past Sunday in worship, we sang the contemporary psalm entitled King of My Heart (lyrics below). It is a reminder that our Almighty God is the only One to whom we can turn in the midst of our uncertain times. He who has promised is faithful! And He’s never gonna let us down!

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Portions of this post have been taken from chapter 34 of my book Possessing the Promise.

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(1) Joshua 21:45 (NLT)

(2) Psalm 138:2

(3) Numbers 23:19

(4) Psalm 12:6

(5) Psalm 91:4

(6) John 15:1-7

(7) Romans 8:31-32 (NKJ)

(8) Exodus 23:29-31

(9) Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

(10) 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NKJ)

Photo by Ponda on Lightstock

King of My Heart

Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh, He is my song

You are good, good, oh
(Repeat 3x)

Let the King of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh, He is my song

You are good, good, oh
(Repeat 3x)

You're never gonna let, never gonna let me down
(Repeat 7x)

You are good, good, oh
(Repeat 7x)

When the night is holding onto me

God is holding on

(Repeat )

You're never gonna let
You're never gonna let me down

Songwriters: John Mark McMillan / Sarah McMillan