Keeping Promises

 "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish." (2 Peter 3:9)

I am constantly amazed at the faithfulness of God. This particular passage refers to His promise to return back to earth and rescue His people. When I see this verse, it reminds me of all the other promises He has in the Word as well.  He promises that if we call to him, He will answer us and show us great and mighty things (Jeremiah 33:3) Well, I prayed this prayer this morning before I studied the Bible that He would show me great and mighty things and He did not fail to deliver. 

Since early January, I've been reading through a One Year Bible, which features several passages to read daily over the year until you've read the whole Bible by the end of the year. There's a New testament, Old testament, Psalms and Proverbs. As I read this morning, several passages spoke to me. But when I was finished reading, I didn't have any specific powerful feeling of what I read being particularly significant or deeply  hard-hitting. However, I stopped, said a prayer and read the Psalms passage over again. It's Psalms 15:1-5 When I saw it, the message was right there, clear as day. 

This passage highlights the character qualities of a person who may "dwell on God's Holy hill." Of the 11 qualities it mentions, it was verse 4 that popped out.  In answering the question highlighted in verse 1 that says "Lord who may dwell in your sanctuary? When may live on your holy hill?" The answer comes: 

"He who keeps his oath even when it hurts." Ouch. 

I looked in a different Bible to find a reference verse and read in Leviticus 5:4 where it describes a person who speaks thoughtlessly when they give an oath. Yikes. That is so me. Our motivation is to please and not cause any riffs. In the end, our words bind us to oaths we don’t have the will or capacity to keep. 

I realize, I make lots of promises yet many times I do not keep them very often. I make promises and break them all the time. It is hard for me to keep my word. This is a character flaw that can keep me from being on that God's holy hill as mentioned in Psalms. This may not seem very significant, but it's huge because broken promises lead to broken relationships. 

The damage done to a child when a parent breaks his promise is immense. It is a sad day when a child realizes how unstable and faulty their parents can be. The instability of a child's environment can lead to serious trust issues, emotional issues, and a whole litany of problems.  Children who grow up as healthy adults either have parents that were highly stable and consistent or they had a heavenly father they looked up to that was a source of stability for them. Either way, stability is key. This stability is what makes God our Father such an incredible source of assurance for me. I long to be the parent that upholds a sense of integrity and keeping of my word, even if it hurts. Yesterday, I made a promise to take my kids to a special library in town. We were running late, I didn't feel like going anymore, but the response daughter gave sent me in a tailspin. I realized how often I break my promises. How I speak thoughtlessly. Kids can experience disappointment and survive. Things shift and change that is out of our control. But, I made a decision right then to keep my promise to her even though it hurt. 

"The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him." (Proverbs 20:7)

This is how I want to be. I want to be a principled person, steadfast immovable, full of integrity. This is what I desire and this is what my children need. Think of how many promises we've broken and yet our standards for our children or others are higher than our own. We want others to keep promises, but we don't keep promises to others or even ourselves. This is a fatal flaw that has to be confessed and surrendered to God. I think of Jesus who made a commitment to do His father's work and complete His earthly mission to save the world. At the very end of His life, He prayed for things to change, but, He ultimately made a choice to follow's God's will and not His own. It was not easy, it was painful, it hurt, but He kept His promise. I'm so glad that He did. I'm so thankful for a faithful and steadfast God.  He kept His promise this morning to me. I was reminded of my faults and my need for God and bowed my head in praise as I thought about His faithfulness. A renewed sense of keeping my word emerged. I'm so glad God keeps His promises.

"Dear Lord, Thank you for being faithful in keeping your promises to me. You are so faithful, you are steadfast, you are a solid rock on which I can stand. Forgive me for making promises without the tenacity to keep them.  I pray in the name of Jesus that the righteousness of Christ will cover me that I may walk in integrity and my children can follow and be blessed. Even now you have promised to come again, yet you are patient because you don't want anyone to perish and are giving us time. Fill me with your Spirit that I may be a strong rock for my children. Live in me that I may not make thoughtless promises. Cause me to keep my word today. In Jesus' name, Amen."