Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. (Joshua 21:45)

Read: Joshua 21:1-22:20, Luke 20:1-26, Psalm 89:1-13, Proverbs 13:15-16

Relate: “Oh this is going to be fun…” That was my immediate thought when my heart paused on this verse in today’s daily reading. After all, it is campaign season in America and no politician can resist making numerous ridiculous promises during the sixteen month long debacle and multibillion dollar industry that is the race to the executive office. One of the first pages I landed on looking for fodder was a list of 76 promises made by Trump. Unfortunately, almost none of them are sourced and I don’t have the time to do it myself, so it would be irresponsible for me to repeat them here. (But it does make for some fun reading if you wanted to google search it yourself) I would say he has taken dumb campaign statements to a new low, but then I get thinking of some other doozies…

George Bush Sr – Read my lips. No new taxes. (Good luck with that)

Richard Nixon – I have a secret plan to end the war. (ummm…)

Jimmy Carter – I will never lie to you. (Actually, sadly, this is one of the most believable considering the man. His integrity is part of what made him such a horrible politician)

Ronald Reagan – We did not, I repeat did not, trade weapons for hostages. (Can anyone say Iran Contra)

Lyndon B Johnson – We are not going to be sending American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys should be doing for themselves. (Vietnam? We won’t touch that)

George Bush Jr – Mission accomplished. (Good luck with that, again)

Harry Truman – Everyone will have ready access to all necessary medical, hospital and related services. (Sad thing is, we were ready for universal healthcare back then. The fact that seventy years later we still don’t is a crime of barbaric proportions)

Of course they aren’t all bad. John F Kennedy promised that within a decade America will land a man on the moon and safely bring him home again. Al Gore, who was elected but never served as president, promised to invent the internet. Oh, wait…

React: It is easy to poke fun of all those presidential promises, but how many times have I said I would be there or committed to do something and then failed to follow through? How many of us have said “for better or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part” only to be saying a few years later, “I don’t love you anymore. Goodbye.” How many of us have defaulted on loans? That is a broken promise. How many have promised our kids something that days later we have completely forgotten about? How many of us have lied? How frequently? How many times even today?

God’s perfect track record of always speaking only truth is one of His most amazing Divine traits when you think of it. His ability to follow through on every single one of His promises every single time with absolutely perfect timing is just mind blowing. How many of those promises have I taken hold of? He does not lie. He cannot lie. God is truth.

Respond: 

Dear God,
I am so grateful that You are truth. If You have said it, it will be. If You have said it, it already is. We just haven’t seen yet. Help me to live out my life as if I actually believed that every one of Your promises will be fulfilled. Help me to act in the confidence that if You have spoken it will come true. Help me to be more disciplined the promises I make and more diligent to do all in my power to bring them to reality. You are truth and I want to be more like You.
Amen