Episode 434: I’m Talkin…Promised

I’m Talkin', episode 434 for August 9th, 2026.

This is Joel from the I’m Talkin' Microcast, where I share my thoughts on a topic that has piqued my interest this past week.

This week, we’re talking promised.

Promised is a word that holds quite a bit of weight, and you think about when you were a child and you said, But you promised, or maybe your kid said to you, But Dad, you promised we were going to do this.

And it still, in today’s world, means something when someone says they promise.

And the problem then occurs is when you choose to not keep something that you promised.

And if you do that too often, then there’s a breakdown of trust.

People think something is wrong with your character, and there may be, but it really impacts our relationship with people.

And therein lies the challenge for those of us who call ourselves Christians.

Today’s word comes from Psalm 56, verses 3 and 4, that says, But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.

I praise God for what he has promised.

I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?

What can mere mortals do to me?

This is such a great set of verses.

You see the writer coming in a full circle.

The first thing that the writer says is, When I’m afraid, I’m going to put my trust in God, and what a good place to sit and know that when you have troubles, when you are not sure about the next step or the future, that you can rest in what God has done.

And then he recognizes that and said, I praise God for what he has promised.

And the reason that he can praise God for these is he’s seen them take hold.

He’s seen them come true, and he’s seen God follow through on his promises.

So then he’s thinking about that, and he comes back and he says, Wait a second.

I trust in God.

Why should I be afraid?

What can anyone do to me?

And it’s just such a great buildup of what God is like.

And unlike people, where we judge them because they don’t follow through on what they promise, this author says, I praise God for what he has promised.

It always happens.

There is no time when God does not follow through, where he fails on something he has promised.

And that gives us as Christians such an awesome example.

It doesn’t mean we’re going to be perfect, but it does mean that our words mean something.

And if we build on that and we have that trust, when we speak to people about who our God is and what he has done, why should we be afraid?

What can mere mortals do to us?

Until next week, this is Joel from the I’m Talking Microcast.