“Fully convinced that what [God] promised He was also able to do.” Romans 4:21 NKJV.

A person of character will do as they say, whatever effort or sacrifice is required.

My thoughts and comments today are about “promise keepers.”

Advertisers and marketers make promises manufacturers don’t fulfill. Advertising notoriously leaves people skeptical. The hype is better than the reality. That should not be true of us. People make promises too – husbands and wives, parents and kids, bosses and employees, citizens and governments, businesses and customers – but promises are more easily made than kept. Expect more of yourself. If there is a problem about keeping promises, intention is not usually the cause. Intentions usually exceed abilities. Sometimes there are reasons a promise is not kept, sometimes excuses.

Broken promises devalue your words; each time a promise is broken, words mean less to more people. My Dad measured a man by his word. “A man is only as good as His word,” he believed. A person of character will do exactly as they say, whatever the effort or sacrifice required. The Bible makes it simple, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” James 5:12 NKJV. Be clear with your words; be true to your word. Better to promise less and deliver more. When a promise is kept, be gracious. When unable to honor your word, be honest and explain.

If that is true of promises made to other people, how much more should a person be sincere and diligent about their promises to God? “So when you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through . . Keep all the promises you make to Him. It is better to say nothing than to promise something that you don’t follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making you sin.” Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 NLT.

Consider how God guards and values His words. “So is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV. Abraham is an interesting study. Read Romans 4:17-22 NKJV. God made a promise that Abraham would be, “a father of nations with descendants as the stars of the Heavens and sands of the sea.” But then time passed. What was first unlikely was soon impossible by natural means. By every evidence, the time had passed; the promise failed. But God does not fail, neither do His words. Solomon declared, “There has not failed one word of all His good promise.” 1 Kings 8:56 NKJV.

Abraham weighed the facts – his and Sarah’s age and incapacity – but believed the truth. His assurance was in God’s ability, not his own. “Abraham . . in the presence of Him whom he believed – God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did – who contrary to hope, in hope believed . . He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what [God] had promised He was also able to perform.” Read Hebrews 11:8-12/17-19 NIV. Fully convinced. What would that look like for you?

Trust must be placed upon the incomparable ability and inviolable integrity of the One who promises, even more than in the promise itself. That is a notable distinction. And the ultimate sum of it all is this: “This is what He promised us – even eternal life.” 1 John 2:25. God is a Promise Keeper!

My prayer for you today is: hold fast the promises He speaks within your heart.