I’ve been desperate to believe I can still hold on to a long ago promise God made me, and so several weeks ago, I entered two words into the search bar of one of my Bible programs: word fail

My search served up seven results, which have been sitting on a tab on my computer ever since. I kept clicking on the tab and reading the first two and the last two results over and over. I never intended to share any of this with you, but God did a crazy thing a couple weeks ago when my good friend Efe gave a powerful presentation that included one of the verses I’d been drawn to in those search results.

For weeks before I went to hear Efe speak, I kept looking at my search results and dwelling on the obvious fact that not a word God spoke to Moses and Elijah had failed. I mean, they’re Moses and Elijah for heaven’s sake. But then, there is that part in Romans 9:6 about how not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Didn’t my adoption through faith in Jesus mean this promise is for me too?

Sometimes, it takes God doing something crazy to get me to see what’s right in front of me. He used Efe to do that! She was teaching from Luke 1 and had put the text from Luke 1 up on the screen so the women in attendance could read along with her. My eyes widened when she got to verse 37.

These words were in bold type: no word from God will ever fail.

What? Did she know I’d been chewing on Luke 1:37 for weeks and weeks? I actually looked through old texts to see if I’d told her about my struggle to believe that God would fulfill his outrageous promise to me. Then Efe did the very thing I ask you to do. She pointed to the words in bold and told us to say them out loud. The chapel was filled with women who bore little in common with Moses and Elijah, and yet Efe asked us to declare that promise and make it our own.

God isn’t in a hurry, but he keeps every promise. He is worthy of our trust. So, let’s rest in the assurance of his faithfulness.

I’m excited to be teaching Women’s Bible study this fall, and I’ve posted the details as well as a registration form on my website. Please take a minute to check it out by visiting shawnamariebryant.com. The Bible study is based on my book, Longing to Belong, and it will teach you how to make a habit of reading the Bible not just for information, but also for conversation. We will take time each week to make declarations of truth. After all, your tongue has power. Use it for good.

This week’s scripture: 1 Kings 8:56, 2 Kings 10:10, Luke 1:37, Romans 9:6