Promises

My promises define who I am.

I have made promises to my beautiful wife, Rebekah, to our family, to our church, and to our community. I make those promises because of the promise God has made to us—a promise He has faithfully kept.

In Scripture, God calls His promises covenants.

To illustrate the power and seriousness of His covenant with Abraham, God once appeared as a flaming vessel passing between the halves of a sacrifice. In essence, God was declaring, “If I break this promise, let me be torn apart.” Such is the strength and certainty of God’s word.

When I read that story in Genesis, it reminds me of something very personal. If I break my promises, my own life begins to fly apart. My world becomes fragmented and fractured. Keeping my promises—with God’s help—to Rebekah, to our family, to our church, and to our community keeps my life whole, sane, and joyful.

I hope you noticed those important words: with God’s help.

I need the inner strength and integrity that God gives if I am going to be a promise keeper.

While reading the exciting stories in First Samuel, I highlighted two verses about promises.

“Stay here for now, and may the LORD help you keep your promise.”
—1 Samuel 1:23 (NLT)

Hannah’s husband is essentially saying to her, “You are about to keep a promise to the Lord that will be deeply costly. May God help you do it.”

Later we read these words:

“May the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”
—1 Samuel 20:23 (NLT)

David had made a promise to his friend Jonathan—one that could easily have been forgotten later. But Jonathan reminds David of two important things.

First, they will need God’s help to keep their promises.

Second, God Himself has witnessed their promise.

Literally, the Hebrew idea is: “The LORD is between me and you.” Two men would one day be called upon to make great sacrifices. They knew that God stood between them to help them remain faithful.

There will always be obstacles to keeping our promises. There will be temptations and distractions.

G. K. Chesterton once wrote, “The man who makes a vow makes an appointment with himself at some distant time or place.”

When a man and woman stand before their pastor, family, and friends and make their vows, they are essentially saying:

Ten years from now, I will be there for you.
Twenty years from now, I will be there for you.
Fifty years from now, I will be there for you.
Seventy-five years from now, with God’s help, I will still be there for you.

What vulnerability.

What a commitment.

When Rebekah and I made our promise to one another so many years ago, we were making an appointment with our future selves—an appointment that would last until death do us part. Keeping that promise has brought us the deepest joys and a lasting peace, even as we have passed through difficult and challenging seasons of life.

That promise to love, cherish, and honor one another has kept the wolves of bitterness, betrayal, and neglect at bay. These forces seek to devour love.

Just a few minutes ago we looked at one another with affection, with promises kept. In that moment I saw the smiles of two young people deeply in love. They were filled with faith about the future. We still are!

Because God keeps His promises, with His help we can keep ours to one another.

Peace!