Lord, I Promise That…
“All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
Once there was a child, a problem child, who had a knack for getting into trouble. If it was not in the house, it was at church, or at school. The fact is that the “kid” was a troublemaker. (Do you know somebody like that?)
When his mother, neighbors or teachers scolded him, he always had the same answer:
“I promise that I won’t do it again!”
That “solemn” and heartfelt promise wouldn’t last for more than an hour, so the mother told her child that she was not going to believe him anymore, until he would start keeping his promises.
The Israelites in the time of Moses and many Christians of today have one thing in common: We promise more than we are able or willing to fulfill. In that regard, we are not much better than the kid who lied to his mother.
How many times have we broken our promises to our Savior?
It is possible that many of our promises originate from our emotions. We feel good after hearing a powerful song, poem or sermon, and we walk all the way down to the altar. As we stand or kneel at the altar, we promise many and great things to God, without even considering all the implications and complications.
Then again, there is a time to come to God, not to promise, but to offer him our lives. He has promised to do great things in us, for us and through us; and he will do it because he always keeps all his promises.
