God's Broken Promises

         How many times have people made promises to you they never kept?  How many times has someone given you their word, only to treat it more like a political statement than a promise?  How many times have you counted on someone to “be there” for you, but they let you down and disappointed you (or worse abandoned you)?  I know, probably too many times than you care to remember.

         But let me ask you this.  How many promises have you’ve broken to others?  How many times have you not kept your word?  How many times have you let others down?

         No matter how you slice it, we’re all guilty of breaking a promise (or two) or not keeping our word.  However, we often try to justify our lie, disappointment, unfaithfulness, or failure as an isolated incident because, “Hey, nobody’s perfect, right?” 

         We also tend to minimize our failure (and slip in character) by comparing ourselves to the person (or people) who’ve screwed up more times than we have.  This proverbial scorecard allows us to minimize the guilt while maintaining our self esteem. 

         But regardless of how you look at, wrong is still wrong, and failure is still failure.  But on the flip side of that, you shouldn’t allow wrong to end in worry nor failure to be final.  As long as there’s breath in your lungs, there’s still time to “do the right thing” and to make things right, even when you get less than “perfect” results.

         I say all of this, because I received a humbling revelation this morning as I sought God in my quiet time.  I read out of the book of Jeremiah (Chapter 18). 

         I recounted all the times I told people (especially men), “We need to boldly hold God accountable to His promises.”  Now don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying God owes us anything.  Because in reality, He’s already given us everything – His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

         No, rather I’m talking about the fact that God has given us the privilege and the divine right to approach Him, out of reverence and by faith, to remind Him of what He said and “promised” to us in His Word.  In fact, I truly believe God actually smiles whenever we do that, because it (our attitude) exhibits all the character traits He desires to see in us:

• Humility
• Dependence
• Trust
• Faith

         In other words, our boldness in reminding Him of His promise is in actuality saying to Him that we expect Him to deliver on His promises.  It’s no different than my son reminding me, “Dad, you said you were going to take me to the beach this summer.”  “Dad, you said you were going to play catch with me today.”  “Dad, you said we were going to the movies.”  I don’t get upset when he reminds me, only when he gets impatient after I told him I would (note: that’s a lesson in itself).

         However, after reading Jeremiah 18, the Holy Spirit revealed one simple truth I seemed to overlook about redeeming God’s promises.  The fact that God is only obligated to keep His promise to us IF and WHEN we fulfill our part of the promise to Him (which is obedience).  In other words, God is not required or obligated to bless our mess.

         He said in His Word…

• “ALL THINGS will be added unto me IF I seek Him.”
• “ALL THINGS will work together for my good IF I love Him”.
• “He will REWARD me IF I remain in diligent pursuit of Him.”
• “My LIFE will be long IF I honor my parents.”
• “I will receive BLESSINGS I can’t contain IF honor and test Him with the tithe.”

         And the list of promises go on and on.  Just like my relationship with God, my son doesn’t have to do anything to “earn” my love; he already has it unconditionally.  However, I do expect my son to do certain things out of respect, honor, and obedience towards me whenever I ask.  If he chooses not to do those things, he must understand that even as his father, I love him, but I’m not obligated to bless the mess (he created).

         So God, I thank you for such a simple but life-transforming word today.  Forgive me, and the men I minister to, for all the times we’ve expected you to bless us in the middle of our disobedience.  And forgive me for blaming you in the past for unfulfilled promises in my life when I didn’t keep my end of the deal.  God, thank you for loving me, and loving us, through those times, and please give us the strength to do better.

         Until next time, stay strong and stay in His grip!