Week of 1/13-1/19: Develops - God Provides Leaders

Day Three: 1 Kings 8:54-61 When Solomon finished praying this entire prayer and petition to the LORD, he got up from kneeling before the altar of the LORD, with his hands spread out toward heaven, and he stood and blessed the whole congregation of Israel with a loud voice: May the LORD be praised! He has given rest to His people Israel according to all He has said. Not one of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses has failed. May the LORD our God be with us as He was with our ancestors. May He not abandon us or leave us. May He incline our hearts toward Him to walk in all His ways and to keep His commands, ordinances, and judgments, which He commanded our ancestors. May my words I have made my petition with before the LORD be near the LORD our God day and night, so that He may uphold His servant’s cause and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, and so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God. There is no other! Let your heart be completely devoted to the LORD our God to walk in His ordinances and to keep His commands, as it is today.

MANY FAMILIES HAVE EXPERIENCED PAIN and separation throughout the years of conflict in the Middle East. When Sgt. Danny said goodbye to his only daughter, he made a vow with her that he intended to keep: “I will come back. I have never broken a promise and I don’t plan to start now.” After a year in the harsh climate of the desert, the sergeant returned safely to his daughter who was consumed with emotion. As she jumped into his arms, he was dumbfounded. “Why are you so surprised?” he asked. “Did you think I would break my promise?”

Much like the father in this story, you can count on God to keep His promises. He always keeps His word, and better yet, we have a way of finding assurance. His Word provides comfort, hope, and inerrant truth. When King Solomon dedicated the temple, he brought up the fact that God had never broken a promise: “May the Lord be praised! He has given rest to His people Israel according to all He has said. Not one of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses has failed” (1 Kings 8:56).

Find hope in God’s promises. Through His Word, He promises rest and security (Matt. 11:28-29), provision for all of your needs (Phil. 4:19), the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26-27), but most of all victory in Jesus (Romans 8:37-39). As humans, we fail and we sometimes break our promises. But God is ever faithful—He always keeps His promises.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷Is it important to keep promises in your daily life? Why?

▷▷What does it feel like when someone breaks a promise with you? How does that impact the relationship?

▷▷How does it feel to know that God will never do that to you?