Promises Made, Promises Kept

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise…”  II Peter 3:9(a)

We’ve all made promises that we did not keep.  The reasons or excuses are varied:  “I forgot” or “I wasn’t able to do what I said I would do.”  Sometimes we are, as one of my former pastors used to say, “providentially hindered”, meaning that our failure to follow through on our promise was through no fault of our own.  In other words, unforeseen circumstances prevented us from fulfilling a promise even though we had planned to do as we vowed.  Sometimes, though, our offer to perform some task or even just come for a visit or take another out to eat was never really sincere, was more like a parting gesture, a “don’t call me, I’ll call you”, but then they never do.  In this case, after hearing these empty promises so many times, you learn not to hold your breath waiting for their call.  Of course, we are all imperfect people with good intentions, but with either poor memories or in the habit of making superficial offers that we really do not intend to keep.  One might say that some of us are “slack”, or neglectful concerning our promises.

There is One whom I can depend on to never be “slack” concerning His promises, and His promises are “out of this world!”  He promised to take care of me now and forever if I would depend on Him.  He promised that I would never be alone because His Holy Spirit would be with me 24/7, 365 days a year.  He promised that every need would be met by His grace and mercy.  Thus far the Lord has never failed on any promise that He has made, and I am confident that He will always do what He has promised.

On the other hand, though, there are some things that the Lord has not promised.  One of them is an easy life.  Quite the contrary.  The life of a believer in Christ becomes more complicated in some respects because the believer is now cognizant of his or her sin much more than before they repented and received Christ as Lord and Savior.  They realize that they are accountable for their words and their actions whereas before they may have been careless in their manner of living.  If a truly born again believer desires to strive for excellence in his or her Christian life, he or she will find that it is impossible on one’s own.  There are times when a believer who does the right thing will be mocked or ridiculed.  Sometimes believers are passed over for jobs and promotions because of their commitment to Christ.  Sometimes they are excluded from social gatherings for their faith, but I think the main reason for that is unbelievers don’t feel comfortable around those who stand for Christ.  Paul wrote in II Corinthians 2:15-16 that believers who are the “pleasing aroma of Christ” are welcomed by likeminded folks, but are not welcome by those who are perishing in their sins.

God never promised monetary wealth to those who follow Him.  He did promise to provide our needs if we remain loyal to and depend upon Him.  It is true that some believers are wealthy, but God expects them to use these blessings to help others.  Those who preach a “prosperity gospel” are misleading folks to make the goal of their Christian lives an accumulation of wealth.  Scripture tells us that Jesus didn’t even have a place to “lay His head” (Matthew 8:20).  He depended completely upon His Father.  And that’s what we are to do–depend on the Lord and His promises to us.

The Christian life is a battle, a very difficult process, but is necessary in order to grow in Christ.  The longer one walks with Christ, the deeper the relationship grows, resulting in a peace and joy that can’t be found anywhere else.  A life lived for Christ is also a life lived for others, sharing burdens and sorrows, but also joys.  So no matter what we may face in life, Christ has promised to never leave us or forsake us, but will carry us through any difficulty.  The bottom line is that we all need to be more diligent in keeping our promises because that’s what Jesus does.