The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Keeping Promises

Caleb waited 45 years to get his promised inheritance from God. That’s a long time to wait.

As I write this, I realize that my wife and I have been married nearly as long as Caleb waited to get his promised parcel of land. I remember when Marilyn walked down the aisle toward me. I remember how she looked at me when we made our marriage vows. Like Caleb, I have cherished and depended on those promises for a long time.

Contrary to much of what we hear today, promises are made to be kept, not broken. Marilyn has kept her promises to me, and that is a source of great comfort and happiness. Marriage works best when people keep their promises.

When we marry, we make promises to one another. But we also depend on the promises God makes about marriage. Just as God promised Caleb that he would get an inheritance, God promises Christians that he will bless their marriages. Some couples wait a long time to experience the fulfillment of that promise. And many marriages seem to have so much wrong with them.

When you and your spouse experience conflict, emptiness, dissatisfaction or hopelessness in your marriage, it’s time to remember God’s promises. He doesn’t do things on our timetable; he does them on his own. Because he is a perfect God, his timetable is perfect.

Caleb understood that. He forthrightly reminded God of his promises and explained how he had been faithful to God when most of the other spies had not been. Caleb did not doubt that God would do what he had promised. And guess what? God was faithful; he gave Hebron to Caleb.

I need to follow the pattern God set when he made his promise to Caleb. I need to keep my promises, especially the promises I made to Marilyn many years ago. But even when I’m a promise-breaker, I need to remember that God is not. I can honestly testify that God has played a role in our marriage. He has kept us together. He has blessed us as we’ve grown old together.

Our marriage will end someday when one of us dies. I dread the thought of it. Nonetheless, I can bear it because I have the promise of Jesus that he has gone to prepare a place for both of us and we will go to be with him (see John 14:1–3). Caleb waited 45 years to see God keep his promise. I see his promises fulfilled every day. How about you?

• What promises did we make to each other before we got married? What promises did we make in our wedding vows?
• How have we lived up to those promises? Which ones have been the most difficult to keep? Which ones have been the easiest to keep? Which ones are still testing us?
• How have we seen God keep his promises to us in our life together?

Taken from the NIV Couple’s Devotional Bible.