LifeLink Devotional

Friday, January 22, 2021

The older I get – and yes I’m getting old – the more I recognize the importance of keeping promises. But I see a huge problem. We tend to make commitments that we don’t define as promises. For example, When I tell someone I will be at a meeting at a certain time, and then show up ten minutes late, have I broken a promise? Now if you are at once thinking of all the reasons for being ten minutes late, then you do not define a commitment as a promise. I think that’s a problem.

What if God did that. What if His promises were not ”Yes and Amen”  as we are told in 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. What if the promises of God could not be trusted? What if His Word was changeable?

When Jesus responded to the attack on His life in John 10, He made a statement that got me thinking along these lines today. He said, “The Scripture cannot be broken.” What God has revealed to us in the Bible is the perfect expression of His perfection. What He has promised us in His Word is equal in trustworthiness as He is. The spiritual principles for life written in the Bible are eternally valid and cannot be changed. What God has spoken cannot be undone.

Unfortunately, my word is not so trustworthy. Neither is yours. We do not define promises the way God does. From the imperfection of our heart comes the imperfection of our word. We do not perfectly fulfill what we have promised because the promise did not originate in a perfect soul.

However, that must not be used as an excuse for our substandard performance. There is hope for improvement. It starts with recognizing that our words are promises. The problem is the source of our words, when they come from our human identity, are not trustworthy. However, if our words are the expression of the Living Word within us, then they are trustworthy. When the promises we make are sourced in the promises of God, then the Holy Spirit empowers us to fulfill them for the sake of His own glory.

Take some time to evaluate the source of your words. If the commitment you are making to someone is based on the need for approval or acceptance, then you will not consistently fulfill your promise. But is the commitment you are making is centered in the Word of Jesus Christ, you will find the Holy Spirit enabling you to fulfill your promise because the promise is His.

Think on these things.

Pastor John