Promises, Promises

This is what the Lord says,

"Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is a house you could build for me?

And where is a place that I may rest?

For my hand made all these things,

Thus all these things came into being," declares the Lord.

"But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,

And who trembles at my word."

Isaiah 66:1-2

Read

Matthew 5:33-37.

Think

I sometimes cringe when I hear some people make promises they can't keep. Usually they go something like this: "I promise I will never let anything hurt you." "I promise I will always be around." "I promise that I will never let you down." It's not that these people don't intend to keep their promises. It's that they are incapable of guaranteeing that they will follow through. And when we make a promise and then don't keep it, our promise becomes a lie.

The fact is that there is not one single promise we have the power to guarantee. We try. We try so hard. We want to make it to little Johnny's ball game. We want to be there for people when they need us. We want to protect the people that we love. And most of us are able to keep most of the promises we make. It's those few promises that turn to lies that really cause the issue for us. It's that one promise that we don't keep that reveals that we are not like God.

God's character is always truthful. God always keeps His promises. God is capable of guaranteeing follow through. He is the one who sits in the throne of heaven, with the earth as His footstool. He is the one who commands the wind and the sea. Yet He is also the one who is intimately involved with our lives and cares deeply about us.

So don't make frivolous promises. In fact, maybe it's best if we don't make hard and fast promises at all. Maybe it's best if we turn our dependence away from ourselves and place it on the only One who makes vows and has never been found to be a liar. Maybe we should say things like: "I will do my best." "Lord willing." "If it is possible."

Pray

Pray that you will be able to fulfill the promises you do make, and avoid making promises you can't guarantee. Pray that your relationships will be strengthened because of it.

Do

Make a list of phrases you can say instead of "I promise".