Have you ever made a promise but broke it before it was time to fulfill it? I have, and it made me feel terrible. My kids felt I had lied to them; even though it was not intentional, it was a lie. I could not do what I said I would do. That is when I began to change my wording of what I would or would not do. From then on, I made sure they understood that the promise was conditional. Making a promise is easy, but keeping it is sometimes difficult.
The Bible is full of promises, yet there are conditions in every case I can think of. In I John 1:9, John teaches us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God can and will forgive us, but there is the little word “if” that gives us the condition. We must do our part.
Promises give us hope. Giving us something to look forward to and prepare for is one of the joys of life. Abraham experienced this when God told him that He would bless him and multiply his descendants as many as the stars in Heaven. God made this promise to Abraham when he was 75 but did not fulfill it until he was 100. I’m sure because he was human, there may have been times when Abraham wondered when it would happen, or even how, since he and Sarah were in old age, but his faith did not waver. He may not have known the details, but he trusted God to keep His promise.
In Hebrews 6:13, the writer reminds us of this promise. He goes on to proclaim to us that we have the same God who is fully capable of making and keeping promises to us. He says in Hebrews 6:19 that God’s promises to us are “the hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” This hope keeps us secure and confident in Him as an anchor does for a ship. When the storms come and beat upon the ship, the anchor holds it where it needs to be. The waves may beat upon it, and objects from the sea may cause damage, but they will not destroy it as long as the anchor is attached. The ship is tied to something greater than itself. In Hebrews 13:5 and 6:18, we have two more promises from God that give us great hope and confidence for the future. He has promised that He will never leave or forsake us and He cannot lie. Our promise is secure and sure because of the one who made it.
Hebrews 6:13-20 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
What promises have you made lately? Do you make promises knowing there is a good chance you can’t keep them? We must count the cost before making a promise, but we cannot allow the cost to determine the outcome. Some promises are vital to our eternal lives. They are vital to the lives of those who watch us and follow us. We need to make promises to God in areas of obedience, but we must determine we will keep them. Have you promised God you will obey no matter what the circumstances, yet you soon find yourself making excuses why you cannot keep His word?
In Numbers 30:2, God instructs us, “If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” A vow is a promise, and we need not make them in haste, yet God expects us to make them and keep them. What promises have you made to God but have failed to keep? Take some time today to evaluate your promises to God and others. Our responsibility for keeping a promise does not go away because we did not think it through. Promises kept gives us hope, promises kept builds character, and promises kept reminds us of the greatest promise ever made to us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Now, that’s a promise made and kept that we can count on.
