The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Keeping Promises

6 Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’[a]

10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba after Arba, who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)

Then the land had rest from war.

Joshua 14:6-15

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.