I’m sitting in the class of one of my favorite professors. He’s tall with a voice that matches his size. For weeks, I’ve been entranced by his experience and expertise. So when he asks if anyone would be interested in doing a special project for him, I jump at the opportunity. And to sweeten the pot, he promises to buy me his favorite box of cigars for taking on this extra task. (Once or twice a year, I like a good cigar.)

I present my project to the class, but no cigar.

Maybe he forgot, or maybe he never intended to give the gift in the first place. Either way, I thought it was strange that he made a promise and didn’t deliver.

That was about 20 years ago, and instead of remembering all the lessons he taught me, I think about the guy who made a promise and didn’t keep it.

(As I scrutinize this professor, I wonder how many times I made empty promises to my wife, kids, or my friends. I wonder how often I’ve let people down by breaking my promises.)

Can I trust you?

Every time someone breaks a promise, no matter how small, you and I start to wonder: “Can I trust you? Are you all talk, or do you mean what you say?” Once they break a promise, we call into question everything else they say or do.

We bring those questions with us wherever we go.

We even bring those questions to our faith.

We look at this ancient book, the Bible, and the supposed God behind the Bible, and we wonder: “Can I trust you? Or are you like everyone else I know? Do you break your promises too?”

One place you can go to have those questions answered is Christmas. For thousands of years, the biblical authors were inspired by God to make hundreds of promises about Christmas.

They promised that the baby Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), from the family of Abraham (Genesis 12:3), and a descendant of the royal family of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Even one of those promises would be impossible to predict. And yet, Jesus fulfilled them all.

Not one promise was broken.

Why is that important?

The God of the Bible doesn’t want you to have this question: “Can I trust him, or is he all talk?”

When you come to Jesus with all your pain and worry and guilt and shame, he wants you to know that you can trust him with everything.

You can trust him with your fear of the future.

You can trust him when you’ve run out of money.

You can trust him with your kids.

You can trust him with your spouse.

You can trust him.

So this Christmas, I want you to think about the true miracle of the holiday: a God who never breaks his promises.

Questions for personal reflection:

1. Where do you need to trust God in this moment?

2. What’s holding you back?