Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 9:16)
All of us have made promises at times. Some of us have even kept those promises. Many of us have regretted making those promises. One such promise (sometimes called a vow) is what many of us made at our wedding ceremony. There are many variations, but here is one of these:
“I, ______ , take you, to be my (wife/husband), and these things I promise you: I will be faithful to you and honest with you; I will respect, trust, help, and care for you; I will share my life with you; I will forgive you as we have been forgiven; and I will try with you better to understand ourselves, the world, and God; through the best and worst of what is to come, and as long as we live.” (Lutheran wedding vows)
In Australia, sadly, the divorce rate in 2022 was 2 per 1000 people, which doesn’t seem too bad until we realise that it equalled about 55,000 marriages dissolved impacting 110,000 adults and possibly 2-300,000 children. Why are so many promises broken? Is there anyone we can trust to totally keep his/her promises?
Thankfully, yes there is One! Listen to what the psalmist says:
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41 May your unfailing love come to me, Lord,
your salvation, according to your promise;
42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
for I trust in your word.
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
for I have put my hope in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,
for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame,
47 for I delight in your commands
because I love them.
48 I reach out for your commands, which I love,
that I may meditate on your decrees.
Knowing that God keeps his promises to us, his people, empowers us in several ways:
- We can trustGod and all that he has said (v.42)
- We can have hopeeven amid turmoil (v. 43)
- We can experience true freedom (v. 45)
- We can be emboldened to speak the truth to authorities and not be put to shame (v. 46)
- We can find delight in God’s word, love His every word to us and seek to constantly meditate on His truths. (vv. 47-48)
The Bible is full of promises (including the one in Genesis 9 quoted above), but let me just highlight a few examples from the words of Jesus found in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-6:
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (5:7-8)
When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (6:3-4)
When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (6:6)
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes… your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (6:25, 32-33)
May God enable us today to not only keep our promises, but to trust His promises, and so experience His unfailing love and His salvation found in Jesus who said:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Tehilim (Psalms) - "songs of praise". 