Unkept Promises
Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times. John 13:38
Have you ever made a promise to God that you didn’t keep? Maybe you promised if He met some need or fixed some problem in your life that you would do something for Him in return? Then when your problem was solved, you forgot about the promise that was made or you just never got around to keeping your end of the deal. You may have made a promise to Him where you said “if you do this one thing for me, I will never use bad language again or I will stop losing my temper. However, when God did His part, you maybe quit those things for a little while, but then soon slipped back into your old ways. I would say that it happens a lot in the world. People call out to God in a moment of crisis and promise to start going to church, reading their Bible or being nicer to those around them. But as soon as the problem is solved, they completely forget about the conversation with God and the promise that was made during the time of trouble.
If you have, there is good news today. It is not too late, and you can still keep that promise. Even if too much time has passed and you cannot do what you had once committed to doing, there is forgiveness available. The truth is, God doesn’t really care so much about a one-time vow to do something. He is much more interested in a continual communion that is never too late to enter into with Him.
If you have made some kind of an oath with God in the past that you were never able to fulfill, you are not alone. Not only are there many today that have done this, but we also have records in the bible of God’s people making a vow to God, but then crumbling under pressure. In the scripture reading today, Peter is one of those people. He promised to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth even to the point of laying down his life for the Lord. That is when Jesus told Peter that he would deny that he even knew Jesus three times that very night. The rest of the evening goes on and later on while Jesus was in front of the council, Peter does deny that he is one of Jesus followers in the courtyard near by. After it was all over, Peter remembered his oath about laying down his life for Jesus and it took some time for him to step back into his place as one of the apostles. When Jesus was resurrected, he made it a point to ask Peter if he loved Him. After that conversation, Peter was restored and goes on to have a great ministry picking up where Jesus left off, even to the point that God was able to do great signs and miracles through him.
Today I want to encourage you to repent of promises made that you were not able to keep. The truth is, you cannot do these things on your own anyway. It takes the help of the Holy Spirit. Trust Him today to empower and guide you to the important things is life. Put away idle promises and begin to walk with Him continually each day. Spend quiet time with Him getting to know and trusting His word more. Then when the pressure is on, you will be able to reach out to Him in faith without feeling like you have to make a vow for Him to move in your behalf. He wants to help you with no strings attached. All you have to do is ask. By developing a close relationship with Him ahead of time, you will have the confidence to know that He is faithful to help in times of trouble and you can walk in peace knowing that He loves you and doesn’t expect some great deed to be done after. A simple thank you will be enough.
Today’s scripture reading: John 13:36-38
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”
38 Jesus answered him, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.
The Daily Dose 