Session 6

How well do you keep your word?

From Numbers: A 5-Week Devotional

Yes.

I promise.

I swear.

I'll make it happen.

Most definitely.

For sure.

There are a million ways we make promises with our words, but it doesn't always mean we'll follow through. Marriage vows get broken. Business deals go south. Contracts end up in court.

In Moses' day, taking a Nazarite vow was a solemn promise to dedicate a certain amount of time to pursue God wholeheartedly. A person couldn't even take time off if a family member died. And if for some reason you did break your vow, the clock started all over on your commitment. The Nazarites didn't play around with their promises.  

Do you become indignant when someone breaks their word to you? How seriously do you take the promises you make to other people?

We can learn a lot from the Nazarites. Jesus tells His followers to simply let their "yes" be a yes, and their "no" be a no. Don't swear at all, because "anything beyond this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37). It's better not to vow at all than to have only a haphazard intention of fulfilling your word.

God takes His promises to us very seriously. From the beginning of Genesis, He promised a Savior to take care of us for all eternity. And even though it meant Jesus would come and have to die for us, God never broke His word. God's covenant with believers is unbreakable. He’s a promise maker and a promise keeper.

As God’s people, we can take comfort in knowing His words never fail. But we should be challenged by that statement as well. We are God’s representatives on earth, and to rep Him well, we have to be willing to say what we mean and do what we say.

Reflect:

• What have you promised someone lately that you have yet to fulfill?
• What's keeping you from accomplishing the thing you promised?