The Kept Word

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”
Genesis 22:1-2 (NIV)

Have you ever had someone make you a promise they didn't keep?

I remember a close friend in my early ministry days who borrowed $2,500 and promised to pay it back within a week. That was over 30 years ago and I’ve never heard from that man again. Not a word or a dime. 

Broken promises leave a mark. Courts are packed with lawsuits over contracts that weren't honored. Maybe a dad said he'd be at the ball game and didn't show, or a friend swore to keep a secret and didn't. You know what a broken word costs.

In today’s verse, Abraham and Sarah wait 25 years on one promise. Then the morning finally arrives. "Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised" (Genesis 21:1–2, NIV). That single word, "now," carries the weight of every year they didn’t see the promise. But God sees them, and walked with them all the way.

Notice that God’s “now” is not when Abraham is ready, or when Sarah runs out of patience. “Now” is on God's timetable, and not one day late.

God keeps every jot, every tittle, and every letter of every word He speaks. The thing you've been holding out hope for, that prodigal who hasn't come home, that door that hasn't opened, that peace that still feels just out of reach, God hasn't forgotten it. He walks you all the way to His promise.

Whatever you are carrying this week, God has already spoken to it.

If anxiety is loud: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." (Isaiah 26:3, NIV)

If you are waiting on a prodigal to come home: "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise... he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, NIV)

If the bills feel bigger than the bank account: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:26, NIV)

When you pray, and it feels like you’re hitting the ceiling: "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer." (Psalm 6:9, NIV)

Don't just read these. Pray them back to God by name and hold on.

Prayer: Father, thank You for keeping every word, even when I can't see how. I trust You with what I'm still waiting on, and help me hold on to You, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen.