The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ And she said, ‘Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’
Promises, promises. How often in life have promises been given to only to be broken? We are entering election season here in Canada with the upcoming federal election is set for October 21, 2019.
No doubt the politicians will be making all kinds of promises. The promise trackers have been released on the current government. In it, the Liberal government was found to have kept 90% of its 2015 promises to the electorate. In reality, that is a bit of a spin. They kept 50% of their promises, partially keep 40% and broke 10%. All in all, a good record when it comes to politicians and promises.
Going forward, all the parties will be dangling money and promises in an attempt to win your vote. If a change in government occurs, then be ready for the tried and tested line that the fiscal books were in worse shape and now we can’t deliver on our promises.
This got me thinking about promises. Humans use promises to solicit votes, cut deals and strike bargains. This is in great contrast to God, who promises come not from an attempt to extract something from you. Rather they come from a place of faithfulness to a relationship between creator and created.
After many years, Abraham and Sarah continued to trust God that God would be faithful and keep His promise. And when Abraham was 100 years old, Sarah gives birth to Isaac, a son. Promise kept.
Maybe the politicians will tell you that they too need many years in power to be able to deliver on their promises. But God’s promises are not about cost/benefit analyses or an attempt to buy your vote. God’s promises are always about being faithful, even when it seems impossible to do so. This is something we discover in our relationship with God. Even when it looks like death has won, and the promise will go unfulfilled, God finds a way.
Because neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Promise made. Promise kept.