Devotion/ Promises! Promises!

Poor Willis

Willis had it all planned, and he was excited. His best friend had promised to come over to his house for a night of food and fun. His room was clean and the pizza was in the oven. Then the phone rang. It was Willis’s pal. He forgot that an extra basketball practice was added. He’d have to miss the party. Sorry!

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been on the receiving end of a broken promise? How would Willis feel the next time his friend promised him something? We all know it’s important to keep promises. They show that we are trustworthy. Those who don’t keep promises can’t be trusted.

God’s promises

Is there anyone who always keeps a promise? We find that the Bible is filled with God’s promises. In fact, someone has tried counting them. They found 3,573 promises. That’s a lot of promises!

What are some of God’s promises? He promises to take care of our needs. He promises to protect us and to help us overcome temptation. He promises to listen to our prayers. He promises to send his angels to watch over us. God gave us these promises, and he intends to keep every one of them.

There are many people who want us to believe that we cannot trust God. They say that God says things that are not true, that the Bible has some false stories, and that God doesn’t keep his word. We know better. We have seen God’s promises and we know we can hold him to his word. The promise kept at the cross and assured at the empty tomb guarantees his faithfulness.

Joshua was called to lead God’s people into the Promised Land. He knew that God always kept his promises. Shortly before he died, Joshua said to the people: “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed” (Joshua 21:45).

God will keep his promises!

There are two more important promises God made. First, he promised: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), and second, he promised: “I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3). We rejoice to know that the greatest Promise Keeper is our loving and faithful God!

By Reynold R. Kremer