I’m a stickler for
arriving on time
and keeping my word,
once given.
And yet, counting the promises
I have broken over the years
would break me.
Perhaps the same is true for you.
Good intentions notwithstanding
the happenstances of life
can intervene:
illnesses unexpected,
sudden storms that
clog our schedules,
even occasional lapses
in memory
can throw a monkey wrench
in the works of the word given.
But, as Abraham learned,
not so with God,
who called the Israelites
to bear the mark of covenant
in their own bodies.
Promises kept are God’s
stock in trade.
A son of Abraham’s
own aged flesh,
from his own withered wife
was one promise impossible
and yet God kept it
though Abraham,
tired of waiting,
tried to help God out
by having a child with Hagar.
Even then, God held to
his end of the bargain,
and laughter was born in Isaac.
El Olam’s promises
grow more precious every day.
How strengthening it is to know
our Heavenly Father always keeps
his vows.
Genesis 17:1–16