Friday August 21, 2020

Psalm 65:8-13
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.
9 You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,
    for so you have ordained it.[a]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;
    they shout for joy and sing.

How good it feels when God’s promise is fulfilled! The Psalmist pens this Psalm celebrating the realization of God’s promise to Israel and as a song of celebration of all the terms of the promise that have come to fruition. The joy is deepened by a long time of suffering and struggle prior to the fulfillment of the promise. This is witness to the essential character of God, a God of faithfulness. Indeed, the Psalmist recognizes that God is faithful, even when we are not. God had preserved them and, as promised, brought them out of the wilderness of struggle.

Our God is a promise keeper. Created in God’s image, we are made to be promise keepers. As my father would say, “My word is my bond.” This kind of integrity, this type of character, is the center of relationships between God and humankind, between God and us. No written contract, agreement or bond is any stronger than our promise keeping. Vows of marriage, baptism, ordination, or any relationship, is a promise that we must choose to keep. These depend solely on our heart commitment to honor them. Simply put, as children of the Promise Keeper, we keep our promises regardless of circumstances, contracts or written agreements. In this age of “follow your dream”, will we keep our promises and commitments as faithful followers of THE Promise Keeper?

How has God kept God’s promise to me?

How have I kept my promises to God?

Am I fulfilling the promises I have made to others?

Dear God, as you have kept and continue to keep your promises, so may I do likewise. I renew my promises to you today. In Christ’s Name, Amen.