I Promise!

Two words that should be hard to say and yet if they are said two words that should be followed through on no matter how difficult it may seem. Sometimes we say words flippantly. We may not think of how they will impact the person we say them to or how it may be impossible to follow through on.

A promise is a commitment to do or not do something. We are only humans, which means we are not perfect. We will not be able to follow through on every promise that is made. It should make us stop and think before we promise-weigh the results and how you can follow through-what it will take and if you are able to do it. We have all been disappointed or let down by someone who promised us something and then failed to follow through on that promise.

I think that a lot of times in the society that we live in, we don't take promises or vows seriously. Marriage is a serious commitment-you are making a promise to your spouse to be with them the rest of your life-through good or bad-yet it is so easy to get a divorce. Parents make promises to their children and yet they are human and sometimes let them down by going back on their word. It reminds me of a bible story in 

Judges 11:30-31,34-35

 "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back."

His response was amazing. He didn't even think of going back on his word to the Lord. And her response to the situation is amazing too-it told me that she knew her father's character and we aren't told that she tries to talk him out of it.

Judges 11:36-39

"And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed:"

There is one who never fails in His promises! God is one we can always depend on and trust and know that whatever He has said-He will follow through on.

A rainbow was given as a promise to Noah after the flood. God promised that he would never destroy the earth again by flood. I think of that promise each time I see a rainbow in the sky.

Genesis 9:12-16

 "And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."

God is God and He will do what He says!

Romans 4:21

"And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."

As we live one day at a time, we need to watch our words-we should not be flippant in making promises. If we say we are going to do or not do something then we should commit to follow through, thus trying to be more like Christ in character. Make your word be worth it when it is spoken. Be one on whom others can depend.