Magnificent and Precious Promises

Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. Romans 4:20-21 (NLT)How good we are at keeping our promises says a lot about us, our character, our trustworthiness. You break enough promises (“enough” is a surprisingly small number) and soon others will count your promises worthless. The value of a promise is only as good as the promise keeper. We and God admire those who keep their promises at great cost and personal sacrifice, there is something inspiring about such promise makers and such promise keeping. King David asked, “Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?” Psalm 15:1 (NLT), and part of the answer is, “He swears (promises) to his own hurt and does not change” Psalm 15:4 (NASB, parenthesis mine).Have you ever been at the receiving end of a careless, unkept promises? You find shatteredness there, shattered trust, lost respect, dead dreams, deteriorated relationships, dissipated honor. Our challenge is not only to be careful about making promises but also discerning about whose promises you can trust. Experience enough worthless promises and it won’t be long before you become distrustful and cynical about promises in general, even God’s.The truth is that none of our promises, even our most carefully made promises, are completely trustworthy. Our most sincere intentions, sterling character, fine track record, and great self-discipline cannot fully guarantee any promise we make. There are just too many variables out of our control, most notably our mortality, we might simply not live long enough to keep a promise. We can keep promises only to the best of our ability, and we should. And, like with all things in life, we are completely dependent on God in our promise keeping. He alone is capable of making a promise and completely guarantee it. His promises are completely trustworthy, in fact, every promise of God is good as reality.Abraham realized and became ever more convinced that the best way to live life is to fully trust in the promises of God, in the certain promise keeper – God. God promised him a son and Abraham and Sarah’s age was not an obstacle. God asked him to sacrifice that precious son and Abraham knew and believed that even death was not problem for God. Abraham would absolutely and without hesitation encourage us live by God’s promises. He would concur with what the Apostle Peter penned, “… because of his glory and excellence, he (God) has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises” 2 Peter 1:4-5 (NLT).The best place to discover God’s promises is the Bible, God’s written word, it is chock-full of “magnificent and precious” promises, each one of them completely trustworthy. Without a doubt you and I are much better off if when we live by God’s promises.To God be all glory, Pastor Hans